diff --git a/lib/Makefile b/lib/Makefile
index 07e1fd0..fc5df3a 100644
--- a/lib/Makefile
+++ b/lib/Makefile
@@ -32,7 +32,11 @@
 include $(RTE_SDK)/mk/rte.vars.mk
 
 DIRS-y += librte_compat
+DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE) += librte_cfgfile
 DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_EAL) += librte_eal
+ifeq ($(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE),y)
+DEPDIRS-librte_eal := librte_cfgfile
+endif
 DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_RING) += librte_ring
 DEPDIRS-librte_ring := librte_eal
 DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MEMPOOL) += librte_mempool
@@ -41,8 +45,6 @@ DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MBUF) += librte_mbuf
 DEPDIRS-librte_mbuf := librte_eal librte_mempool
 DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_TIMER) += librte_timer
 DEPDIRS-librte_timer := librte_eal
-DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE) += librte_cfgfile
-DEPDIRS-librte_cfgfile := librte_eal
 DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_CMDLINE) += librte_cmdline
 DEPDIRS-librte_cmdline := librte_eal
 DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_ETHER) += librte_ether
diff --git a/lib/librte_cfgfile/rte_cfgfile.h b/lib/librte_cfgfile/rte_cfgfile.h
index 902ec69..8808aa7 100644
--- a/lib/librte_cfgfile/rte_cfgfile.h
+++ b/lib/librte_cfgfile/rte_cfgfile.h
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@
 *
 ***/
 
+struct rte_cfgfile; /* forward declaration of struct */
+
 #ifndef CFG_NAME_LEN
 #define CFG_NAME_LEN 64
 #endif
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/Makefile
index a0f9950..d70eefb 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/Makefile
@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ EXPORT_MAP := rte_eal_version.map
 
 LIBABIVER := 4
 
+ifeq ($(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE),y)
+LDLIBS += -lrte_cfgfile
+endif
+
 # specific to bsdapp exec-env
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) := eal.c
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_BSDAPP) += eal_memory.c
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c
index 05f0c1f..e5e11c8 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@
 #include <rte_version.h>
 #include <rte_atomic.h>
 #include <malloc_heap.h>
+#include <rte_cfgfile.h>
 
 #include "eal_private.h"
 #include "eal_thread.h"
@@ -92,6 +93,12 @@
  * duration of the program, as we hold a write lock on it in the primary proc */
 static int mem_cfg_fd = -1;
 
+static int cfg_argc;
+#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE
+static char **cfg_argv;
+#endif
+
+
 static struct flock wr_lock = {
 		.l_type = F_WRLCK,
 		.l_whence = SEEK_SET,
@@ -492,10 +499,28 @@ static void rte_eal_init_alert(const char *msg)
 	RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "%s\n", msg);
 }
 
+#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE
+static void
+free_pointer_array(char **pkt)
+{
+	int i = 0;
+
+	if (pkt) {
+		while (pkt[i]) {
+			free(pkt[i]);
+			pkt[i++] = 0;
+		}
+		free(pkt);
+		pkt = 0;
+	}
+}
+#endif
+
 /* Launch threads, called at application init(). */
 int
 rte_eal_init(int argc, char **argv)
 {
+	int combined_argc; /* combine cfg and param versions */
 	int i, fctret, ret;
 	pthread_t thread_id;
 	static rte_atomic32_t run_once = RTE_ATOMIC32_INIT(0);
@@ -519,8 +544,25 @@ static void rte_eal_init_alert(const char *msg)
 
 	eal_reset_internal_config(&internal_config);
 
+#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE
+	combined_argc = argc + cfg_argc;
+	char *combined_argv[combined_argc + 1];
+
+	combined_argv[0] = argv[0];
+	for (i = 0; i < cfg_argc; i++)
+		combined_argv[i + 1] = cfg_argv[i];
+	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++)
+		combined_argv[i + cfg_argc] = argv[i];
+	combined_argv[combined_argc] = NULL;
+#else
+	combined_argc = argc;
+	char **combined_argv;
+
+	combined_argv = argv;
+#endif
+
 	/* set log level as early as possible */
-	eal_log_level_parse(argc, argv);
+	eal_log_level_parse(combined_argc, combined_argv);
 
 	if (rte_eal_cpu_init() < 0) {
 		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot detect lcores.");
@@ -528,13 +570,21 @@ static void rte_eal_init_alert(const char *msg)
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	fctret = eal_parse_args(argc, argv);
+	fctret = eal_parse_args(combined_argc, combined_argv);
 	if (fctret < 0) {
 		rte_eal_init_alert("Invalid 'command line' arguments.");
 		rte_errno = EINVAL;
 		rte_atomic32_clear(&run_once);
 		return -1;
 	}
+	fctret -= cfg_argc;
+
+#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE
+	free_pointer_array(cfg_argv);
+#endif
+
+	if (fctret)
+		argv[fctret] = argv[0];
 
 	if (internal_config.no_hugetlbfs == 0 &&
 			internal_config.process_type != RTE_PROC_SECONDARY &&
@@ -677,3 +727,77 @@ enum rte_proc_type_t
 {
 	return rte_config.process_type;
 }
+
+#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE
+
+static char *strdup_with_prefix(const char *p)
+{
+	char *np;
+
+	if (strlen(p) > 1) {
+		np = (char *)malloc(strlen(p)+3);
+		if (np)
+			strcpy(np, "--");
+	} else {
+		np = (char *)malloc(strlen(p)+2);
+		if (np)
+			strcpy(np, "-");
+	}
+	return np ? strcat(np, p) : np;
+}
+
+int
+rte_eal_configure(struct rte_cfgfile *cfg)
+{
+	int i, num_entries;
+
+	if (cfg == NULL) {
+		rte_errno = -EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	if (!rte_cfgfile_has_section(cfg, "DPDK"))
+		return 0;
+
+	num_entries = rte_cfgfile_section_num_entries(cfg, "DPDK");
+	if (num_entries <= 0)
+		return 0;
+
+	cfg_argv = malloc((num_entries * 2 + 1) * sizeof(cfg_argv[0]));
+	if (cfg_argv == NULL) {
+		rte_errno = -ENOMEM;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	struct rte_cfgfile_entry cfg_entries[num_entries];
+
+	rte_cfgfile_section_entries(cfg, "DPDK", cfg_entries, num_entries);
+
+	cfg_argc = 0;
+	for (i = 0; i < num_entries; i++) {
+		cfg_argv[cfg_argc] = strdup_with_prefix(cfg_entries[i].name);
+		if (!(cfg_argv[cfg_argc]))
+			goto allocation_error;
+		cfg_argc++;
+		if (strlen(cfg_entries[i].value)) {
+			cfg_argv[cfg_argc] = strdup(cfg_entries[i].value);
+			if (!(cfg_argv[cfg_argc]))
+				goto allocation_error;
+			cfg_argc++;
+		}
+	}
+	/* set last pointer to 0 */
+	cfg_argv[cfg_argc] = 0;
+
+	return cfg_argc;
+
+allocation_error:
+	rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot allocate memory in rte_eal_configure()\n");
+	rte_errno = ENOMEM;
+	for (i = 1; i < cfg_argc; i++) {
+		free(cfg_argv[i]);
+		cfg_argv[i] = 0;
+	}
+	return -1;
+}
+#endif
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/rte_eal_version.map b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/rte_eal_version.map
index 2e48a73..a9b637b 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/rte_eal_version.map
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/rte_eal_version.map
@@ -193,3 +193,8 @@ DPDK_17.05 {
 	vfio_get_group_no;
 
 } DPDK_17.02;
+
+DPDK_17.08 {
+	rte_eal_configure;
+} DPDK_17.05;
+
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal.h b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal.h
index abf020b..6a0b18b 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal.h
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal.h
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@
 #include <rte_per_lcore.h>
 #include <rte_config.h>
 
+struct rte_cfgfile; /* forward declaration of struct */
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 extern "C" {
 #endif
@@ -188,6 +190,10 @@ struct rte_config {
  */
 int rte_eal_init(int argc, char **argv);
 
+#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE
+int rte_eal_configure(struct rte_cfgfile *cfg);
+#endif
+
 /**
  * Check if a primary process is currently alive
  *
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/Makefile
index 640afd0..656033e 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/Makefile
@@ -50,6 +50,9 @@ LDLIBS += -ldl
 LDLIBS += -lpthread
 LDLIBS += -lgcc_s
 LDLIBS += -lrt
+ifeq ($(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE),y)
+LDLIBS += -lrte_cfgfile
+endif
 
 # specific to linuxapp exec-env
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUXAPP) := eal.c
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c
index 7c78f2d..b4078b5 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@
 #include <rte_version.h>
 #include <rte_atomic.h>
 #include <malloc_heap.h>
+#include <rte_cfgfile.h>
 
 #include "eal_private.h"
 #include "eal_thread.h"
@@ -122,6 +123,12 @@
 /* used by rte_rdtsc() */
 int rte_cycles_vmware_tsc_map;
 
+
+static int cfg_argc;
+#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE
+static char **cfg_argv;
+#endif
+
 /* Return a pointer to the configuration structure */
 struct rte_config *
 rte_eal_get_configuration(void)
@@ -745,10 +752,12 @@ static void rte_eal_init_alert(const char *msg)
 	RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "%s\n", msg);
 }
 
+
 /* Launch threads, called at application init(). */
 int
 rte_eal_init(int argc, char **argv)
 {
+	int combined_argc; /* combine cfg and param versions */
 	int i, fctret, ret;
 	pthread_t thread_id;
 	static rte_atomic32_t run_once = RTE_ATOMIC32_INIT(0);
@@ -776,8 +785,25 @@ static void rte_eal_init_alert(const char *msg)
 
 	eal_reset_internal_config(&internal_config);
 
+#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE
+	combined_argc = argc + cfg_argc;
+	char *combined_argv[combined_argc + 1];
+
+	combined_argv[0] = argv[0];
+	for (i = 0; i < cfg_argc; i++)
+		combined_argv[i + 1] = cfg_argv[i];
+	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++)
+		combined_argv[i + cfg_argc] = argv[i];
+	combined_argv[combined_argc] = NULL;
+#else
+	combined_argc = argc;
+	char **combined_argv;
+
+	combined_argv = argv;
+#endif
+
 	/* set log level as early as possible */
-	eal_log_level_parse(argc, argv);
+	eal_log_level_parse(combined_argc, combined_argv);
 
 	if (rte_eal_cpu_init() < 0) {
 		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot detect lcores.");
@@ -785,13 +811,17 @@ static void rte_eal_init_alert(const char *msg)
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	fctret = eal_parse_args(argc, argv);
+	fctret = eal_parse_args(combined_argc, combined_argv);
 	if (fctret < 0) {
 		rte_eal_init_alert("Invalid 'command line' arguments.");
 		rte_errno = EINVAL;
 		rte_atomic32_clear(&run_once);
 		return -1;
 	}
+	fctret -= cfg_argc;
+
+	if (fctret)
+		argv[fctret] = argv[0];
 
 	if (internal_config.no_hugetlbfs == 0 &&
 			internal_config.process_type != RTE_PROC_SECONDARY &&
@@ -995,3 +1025,77 @@ int rte_eal_has_hugepages(void)
 	/* Module has been found */
 	return 1;
 }
+
+#ifdef RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE
+
+static char *strdup_with_prefix(const char *p)
+{
+	char *np;
+
+	if (strlen(p) > 1) {
+		np = (char *)malloc(strlen(p)+3);
+		if (np)
+			strcpy(np, "--");
+	} else {
+		np = (char *)malloc(strlen(p)+2);
+		if (np)
+			strcpy(np, "-");
+	}
+	return np ? strcat(np, p) : np;
+}
+
+int
+rte_eal_configure(struct rte_cfgfile *cfg)
+{
+	int i, num_entries;
+
+	if (cfg == NULL) {
+		rte_errno = -EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	if (!rte_cfgfile_has_section(cfg, "DPDK"))
+		return 0;
+
+	num_entries = rte_cfgfile_section_num_entries(cfg, "DPDK");
+	if (num_entries <= 0)
+		return 0;
+
+	cfg_argv = malloc((num_entries * 2 + 1) * sizeof(cfg_argv[0]));
+	if (cfg_argv == NULL) {
+		rte_errno = -ENOMEM;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	struct rte_cfgfile_entry cfg_entries[num_entries];
+
+	rte_cfgfile_section_entries(cfg, "DPDK", cfg_entries, num_entries);
+
+	cfg_argc = 0;
+	for (i = 0; i < num_entries; i++) {
+		cfg_argv[cfg_argc] = strdup_with_prefix(cfg_entries[i].name);
+		if (!(cfg_argv[cfg_argc]))
+			goto allocation_error;
+		cfg_argc++;
+		if (strlen(cfg_entries[i].value)) {
+			cfg_argv[cfg_argc] = strdup(cfg_entries[i].value);
+			if (!(cfg_argv[cfg_argc]))
+				goto allocation_error;
+			cfg_argc++;
+		}
+	}
+	/* set last pointer to 0 */
+	cfg_argv[cfg_argc] = 0;
+
+	return cfg_argc;
+
+allocation_error:
+	rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot allocate memory in rte_eal_configure()\n");
+	rte_errno = ENOMEM;
+	for (i = 1; i < cfg_argc; i++) {
+		free(cfg_argv[i]);
+		cfg_argv[i] = 0;
+	}
+	return -1;
+}
+#endif
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/rte_eal_version.map b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/rte_eal_version.map
index 670bab3..c93e6d9 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/rte_eal_version.map
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/rte_eal_version.map
@@ -198,3 +198,7 @@ DPDK_17.05 {
 	vfio_get_group_no;
 
 } DPDK_17.02;
+
+DPDK_17.08 {
+	rte_eal_configure;
+} DPDK_17.05;
diff --git a/mk/rte.app.mk b/mk/rte.app.mk
index bcaf1b3..642af92 100644
--- a/mk/rte.app.mk
+++ b/mk/rte.app.mk
@@ -80,7 +80,6 @@ _LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_POWER)          += -lrte_power
 
 _LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_TIMER)          += -lrte_timer
 _LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_EFD)            += -lrte_efd
-_LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE)        += -lrte_cfgfile
 
 _LDLIBS-y += --whole-archive
 
@@ -96,6 +95,7 @@ _LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_MEMPOOL)        += -lrte_mempool
 _LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_DRIVER_MEMPOOL_RING)   += -lrte_mempool_ring
 _LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_RING)           += -lrte_ring
 _LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_EAL)            += -lrte_eal
+_LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_CFGFILE)        += -lrte_cfgfile
 _LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_CMDLINE)        += -lrte_cmdline
 _LDLIBS-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_REORDER)        += -lrte_reorder
 
