diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/include/exec-env/unci.h b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/include/exec-env/unci.h
index 8d4a95777..6d3490aee 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/include/exec-env/unci.h
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/include/exec-env/unci.h
@@ -60,6 +60,20 @@
 
 #define UNCI_DEVICE "unci"
 
+#define UNCI_GENL_MSG_LEN 1536
+
+#define UNCI_NL_MSG_LEN 500
+struct unci_nl_msg {
+	__u32 cmd_id;
+	__u32 port_id;
+	__u32 flag;
+	__u8 input_buffer[UNCI_NL_MSG_LEN];
+	__u8 output_buffer[UNCI_NL_MSG_LEN];
+	size_t input_buffer_len;
+	size_t output_buffer_len;
+	int err;
+};
+
 /* can go into include/uapi/linux/if_link.h */
 enum {
 	IFLA_UNCI_UNSPEC,
@@ -70,4 +84,23 @@ enum {
 
 #define IFLA_UNCI_MAX (__IFLA_UNCI_MAX - 1)
 
+
+#define UNCI_GENL_VERSION 1
+
+enum {
+	UNCI_ATTR_UNSPEC,
+	UNCI_ATTR_MSG,
+	__UNCI_ATTR_MAX,
+};
+
+#define UNCI_ATTR_MAX (__UNCI_ATTR_MAX - 1)
+
+enum {
+	UNCI_CMD_UNSPEC,
+	UNCI_CMD_MSG,
+	__UNCI_CMD_MAX,
+};
+
+#define UNCI_CMD_MAX (__UNCI_CMD_MAX - 1)
+
 #endif /* _UAPI_LINUX_UNCI_H_ */
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/Makefile
index 02e354814..c2a81be7d 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/Makefile
@@ -48,5 +48,6 @@ MODULE_CFLAGS += -Wall -Werror
 # all source are stored in SRCS-y
 #
 SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_UNCI_KMOD) := unci_net.c
+SRCS-$(CONFIG_RTE_UNCI_KMOD) += unci_nl.c
 
 include $(RTE_SDK)/mk/rte.module.mk
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_dev.h b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_dev.h
index 92b9b8383..a748abf98 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_dev.h
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_dev.h
@@ -39,4 +39,7 @@ struct unci_dev {
 	__u32 pid;
 };
 
+int unci_nl_init(void);
+void unci_nl_release(void);
+
 #endif /* _UNCI_DEV_H_ */
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_net.c b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_net.c
index 42fac3e63..1989b6d23 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_net.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_net.c
@@ -74,6 +74,12 @@ static struct rtnl_link_ops unci_link_ops __read_mostly = {
 
 static int __init unci_init(void)
 {
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = unci_nl_init();
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
 	return rtnl_link_register(&unci_link_ops);
 }
 module_init(unci_init);
@@ -81,6 +87,7 @@ module_init(unci_init);
 static void __exit unci_exit(void)
 {
 	rtnl_link_unregister(&unci_link_ops);
+	unci_nl_release();
 }
 module_exit(unci_exit);
 
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_nl.c b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_nl.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1461a3309
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/unci/unci_nl.c
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/*-
+ * GPL LICENSE SUMMARY
+ *
+ *   Copyright(c) 2017 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
+ *
+ *   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ *   it under the terms of version 2 of the GNU General Public License as
+ *   published by the Free Software Foundation.
+ *
+ *   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+ *   WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ *   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ *   General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ *   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ *   along with this program;
+ *   The full GNU General Public License is included in this distribution
+ *   in the file called LICENSE.GPL.
+ *
+ *   Contact Information:
+ *   Intel Corporation
+ */
+
+#include <net/genetlink.h>
+#include <net/sock.h>
+
+#include "unci_dev.h"
+
+static int unci_genl_process(struct sk_buff *skb, struct genl_info *info)
+{
+	struct nlattr **attrs = info->attrs;
+	struct unci_nl_msg nl_msg;
+
+	if (!attrs[UNCI_ATTR_MSG])
+		return -EINVAL;
+
+	nla_memcpy(&nl_msg, attrs[UNCI_ATTR_MSG], sizeof(struct unci_nl_msg));
+	pr_debug("cmd: %u\n", nl_msg.cmd_id);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static struct nla_policy unci_genl_policy[UNCI_ATTR_MAX + 1] = {
+	[UNCI_ATTR_MSG] = { .type = NLA_BINARY, .len = UNCI_GENL_MSG_LEN },
+};
+
+static const struct genl_ops unci_ops[] = {
+	{
+		.cmd = UNCI_CMD_MSG,
+		.doit = unci_genl_process,
+		.policy = unci_genl_policy,
+	},
+};
+
+static struct genl_family unci_genl_family __ro_after_init = {
+	.module = THIS_MODULE,
+	.name = UNCI_DEVICE,
+	.version = UNCI_GENL_VERSION,
+	.maxattr = UNCI_ATTR_MAX,
+	.ops = unci_ops,
+	.n_ops = ARRAY_SIZE(unci_ops),
+};
+
+int unci_nl_init(void)
+{
+	return genl_register_family(&unci_genl_family);
+}
+
+void unci_nl_release(void)
+{
+	genl_unregister_family(&unci_genl_family);
+}
