diff --git a/drivers/net/ena/Makefile b/drivers/net/ena/Makefile
index f9bfe05..43339f3 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ena/Makefile
+++ b/drivers/net/ena/Makefile
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ INCLUDES :=-I$(SRCDIR) -I$(SRCDIR)/base/ena_defs -I$(SRCDIR)/base
 EXPORT_MAP := rte_pmd_ena_version.map
 LIBABIVER := 1
 
+# rte_fbarray is not yet part of stable API
+CFLAGS += -DALLOW_EXPERIMENTAL_API
+
 VPATH += $(SRCDIR)/base
 #
 # all source are stored in SRCS-y
diff --git a/drivers/net/ena/ena_ethdev.c b/drivers/net/ena/ena_ethdev.c
index 34b2a8d..f7bfc7a 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ena/ena_ethdev.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ena/ena_ethdev.c
@@ -264,11 +264,15 @@ static const struct eth_dev_ops ena_dev_ops = {
 static inline int ena_cpu_to_node(int cpu)
 {
 	struct rte_config *config = rte_eal_get_configuration();
+	struct rte_fbarray *arr = &config->mem_config->memzones;
+	const struct rte_memzone *mz;
 
-	if (likely(cpu < RTE_MAX_MEMZONE))
-		return config->mem_config->memzone[cpu].socket_id;
+	if (unlikely(cpu >= RTE_MAX_MEMZONE))
+		return NUMA_NO_NODE;
 
-	return NUMA_NO_NODE;
+	mz = rte_fbarray_get(arr, cpu);
+
+	return mz->socket_id;
 }
 
 static inline void ena_rx_mbuf_prepare(struct rte_mbuf *mbuf,
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c
index d009cf0..54330e1 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/bsdapp/eal/eal.c
@@ -599,14 +599,24 @@ rte_eal_init(int argc, char **argv)
 		}
 	}
 
+	/* in secondary processes, memory init may allocate additional fbarrays
+	 * not present in primary processes, so to avoid any potential issues,
+	 * initialize memzones first.
+	 */
+	if (rte_eal_memzone_init() < 0) {
+		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot init memzone\n");
+		rte_errno = ENODEV;
+		return -1;
+	}
+
 	if (rte_eal_memory_init() < 0) {
 		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot init memory\n");
 		rte_errno = ENOMEM;
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	if (rte_eal_memzone_init() < 0) {
-		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot init memzone\n");
+	if (rte_eal_malloc_heap_init() < 0) {
+		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot init malloc heap\n");
 		rte_errno = ENODEV;
 		return -1;
 	}
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_memzone.c b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_memzone.c
index 1f5f753..12ddd42 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_memzone.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_memzone.c
@@ -28,42 +28,30 @@
 static inline const struct rte_memzone *
 memzone_lookup_thread_unsafe(const char *name)
 {
-	const struct rte_mem_config *mcfg;
+	struct rte_mem_config *mcfg;
+	struct rte_fbarray *arr;
 	const struct rte_memzone *mz;
-	unsigned i = 0;
+	int i = 0;
 
 	/* get pointer to global configuration */
 	mcfg = rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config;
+	arr = &mcfg->memzones;
 
 	/*
 	 * the algorithm is not optimal (linear), but there are few
 	 * zones and this function should be called at init only
 	 */
-	for (i = 0; i < RTE_MAX_MEMZONE; i++) {
-		mz = &mcfg->memzone[i];
-		if (mz->addr != NULL && !strncmp(name, mz->name, RTE_MEMZONE_NAMESIZE))
-			return &mcfg->memzone[i];
+	i = rte_fbarray_find_next_used(arr, 0);
+	while (i >= 0) {
+		mz = rte_fbarray_get(arr, i);
+		if (mz->addr != NULL &&
+				!strncmp(name, mz->name, RTE_MEMZONE_NAMESIZE))
+			return mz;
+		i = rte_fbarray_find_next_used(arr, i + 1);
 	}
-
 	return NULL;
 }
 
-static inline struct rte_memzone *
-get_next_free_memzone(void)
-{
-	struct rte_mem_config *mcfg;
-	unsigned i = 0;
-
-	/* get pointer to global configuration */
-	mcfg = rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config;
-
-	for (i = 0; i < RTE_MAX_MEMZONE; i++) {
-		if (mcfg->memzone[i].addr == NULL)
-			return &mcfg->memzone[i];
-	}
-
-	return NULL;
-}
 
 /* This function will return the greatest free block if a heap has been
  * specified. If no heap has been specified, it will return the heap and
@@ -103,15 +91,17 @@ memzone_reserve_aligned_thread_unsafe(const char *name, size_t len,
 {
 	struct rte_memzone *mz;
 	struct rte_mem_config *mcfg;
+	struct rte_fbarray *arr;
 	size_t requested_len;
-	int socket, i;
+	int socket, i, mz_idx;
 	bool contig;
 
 	/* get pointer to global configuration */
 	mcfg = rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config;
+	arr = &mcfg->memzones;
 
 	/* no more room in config */
-	if (mcfg->memzone_cnt >= RTE_MAX_MEMZONE) {
+	if (arr->count >= arr->len) {
 		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "%s(): No more room in config\n", __func__);
 		rte_errno = ENOSPC;
 		return NULL;
@@ -224,17 +214,22 @@ memzone_reserve_aligned_thread_unsafe(const char *name, size_t len,
 	struct malloc_elem *elem = malloc_elem_from_data(mz_addr);
 
 	/* fill the zone in config */
-	mz = get_next_free_memzone();
+	mz_idx = rte_fbarray_find_next_free(arr, 0);
+
+	if (mz_idx < 0) {
+		mz = NULL;
+	} else {
+		rte_fbarray_set_used(arr, mz_idx);
+		mz = rte_fbarray_get(arr, mz_idx);
+	}
 
 	if (mz == NULL) {
-		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "%s(): Cannot find free memzone but there is room "
-				"in config!\n", __func__);
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "%s(): Cannot find free memzone\n", __func__);
 		malloc_elem_free(elem);
 		rte_errno = ENOSPC;
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
-	mcfg->memzone_cnt++;
 	snprintf(mz->name, sizeof(mz->name), "%s", name);
 	mz->iova = rte_malloc_virt2iova(mz_addr);
 	mz->addr = mz_addr;
@@ -307,34 +302,38 @@ int
 rte_memzone_free(const struct rte_memzone *mz)
 {
 	struct rte_mem_config *mcfg;
+	struct rte_fbarray *arr;
+	struct rte_memzone *found_mz;
 	int ret = 0;
-	void *addr;
+	void *addr = NULL;
 	unsigned idx;
 
 	if (mz == NULL)
 		return -EINVAL;
 
 	mcfg = rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config;
+	arr = &mcfg->memzones;
 
 	rte_rwlock_write_lock(&mcfg->mlock);
 
-	idx = ((uintptr_t)mz - (uintptr_t)mcfg->memzone);
-	idx = idx / sizeof(struct rte_memzone);
+	idx = rte_fbarray_find_idx(arr, mz);
+	found_mz = rte_fbarray_get(arr, idx);
 
-	addr = mcfg->memzone[idx].addr;
-	if (addr == NULL)
+	if (found_mz == NULL) {
+		ret = -EINVAL;
+	} else if (found_mz->addr == NULL) {
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Memzone is not allocated\n");
 		ret = -EINVAL;
-	else if (mcfg->memzone_cnt == 0) {
-		rte_panic("%s(): memzone address not NULL but memzone_cnt is 0!\n",
-				__func__);
 	} else {
-		memset(&mcfg->memzone[idx], 0, sizeof(mcfg->memzone[idx]));
-		mcfg->memzone_cnt--;
+		addr = found_mz->addr;
+		memset(found_mz, 0, sizeof(*found_mz));
+		rte_fbarray_set_free(arr, idx);
 	}
 
 	rte_rwlock_write_unlock(&mcfg->mlock);
 
-	rte_free(addr);
+	if (addr != NULL)
+		rte_free(addr);
 
 	return ret;
 }
@@ -370,7 +369,7 @@ dump_memzone(const struct rte_memzone *mz, void *arg)
 	size_t page_sz;
 	FILE *f = arg;
 
-	mz_idx = mz - mcfg->memzone;
+	mz_idx = rte_fbarray_find_idx(&mcfg->memzones, mz);
 
 	fprintf(f, "Zone %u: name:<%s>, len:0x%zx, virt:%p, "
 				"socket_id:%"PRId32", flags:%"PRIx32"\n",
@@ -427,19 +426,23 @@ rte_eal_memzone_init(void)
 	/* get pointer to global configuration */
 	mcfg = rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config;
 
-	/* secondary processes don't need to initialise anything */
-	if (rte_eal_process_type() == RTE_PROC_SECONDARY)
-		return 0;
-
 	rte_rwlock_write_lock(&mcfg->mlock);
 
-	/* delete all zones */
-	mcfg->memzone_cnt = 0;
-	memset(mcfg->memzone, 0, sizeof(mcfg->memzone));
+	if (rte_eal_process_type() == RTE_PROC_PRIMARY &&
+			rte_fbarray_init(&mcfg->memzones, "memzone",
+			RTE_MAX_MEMZONE, sizeof(struct rte_memzone))) {
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Cannot allocate memzone list\n");
+		return -1;
+	} else if (rte_eal_process_type() == RTE_PROC_SECONDARY &&
+			rte_fbarray_attach(&mcfg->memzones)) {
+		RTE_LOG(ERR, EAL, "Cannot attach to memzone list\n");
+		rte_rwlock_write_unlock(&mcfg->mlock);
+		return -1;
+	}
 
 	rte_rwlock_write_unlock(&mcfg->mlock);
 
-	return rte_eal_malloc_heap_init();
+	return 0;
 }
 
 /* Walk all reserved memory zones */
@@ -447,14 +450,18 @@ void rte_memzone_walk(void (*func)(const struct rte_memzone *, void *),
 		      void *arg)
 {
 	struct rte_mem_config *mcfg;
-	unsigned i;
+	struct rte_fbarray *arr;
+	int i;
 
 	mcfg = rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config;
+	arr = &mcfg->memzones;
 
 	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&mcfg->mlock);
-	for (i=0; i<RTE_MAX_MEMZONE; i++) {
-		if (mcfg->memzone[i].addr != NULL)
-			(*func)(&mcfg->memzone[i], arg);
+	i = rte_fbarray_find_next_used(arr, 0);
+	while (i >= 0) {
+		struct rte_memzone *mz = rte_fbarray_get(arr, i);
+		(*func)(mz, arg);
+		i = rte_fbarray_find_next_used(arr, i + 1);
 	}
 	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&mcfg->mlock);
 }
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal_memconfig.h b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal_memconfig.h
index b745e18..88cde8c 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal_memconfig.h
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal_memconfig.h
@@ -58,10 +58,8 @@ struct rte_mem_config {
 	rte_rwlock_t qlock;   /**< used for tailq operation for thread safe. */
 	rte_rwlock_t mplock;  /**< only used by mempool LIB for thread-safe. */
 
-	uint32_t memzone_cnt; /**< Number of allocated memzones */
-
 	/* memory segments and zones */
-	struct rte_memzone memzone[RTE_MAX_MEMZONE]; /**< Memzone descriptors. */
+	struct rte_fbarray memzones; /**< Memzone descriptors. */
 
 	struct rte_memseg_list memsegs[RTE_MAX_MEMSEG_LISTS];
 	/**< list of dynamic arrays holding memsegs */
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/malloc_heap.c b/lib/librte_eal/common/malloc_heap.c
index 0ef2c45..d798675 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/malloc_heap.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/malloc_heap.c
@@ -278,6 +278,10 @@ rte_eal_malloc_heap_init(void)
 	if (mcfg == NULL)
 		return -1;
 
+	/* secondary process does not need to initialize anything */
+	if (rte_eal_process_type() != RTE_PROC_PRIMARY)
+		return 0;
+
 	/* add all IOVA-contiguous areas to the heap */
 	return rte_memseg_contig_walk(malloc_add_seg, NULL);
 }
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c
index ffcbd71..9832551 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linuxapp/eal/eal.c
@@ -858,6 +858,15 @@ rte_eal_init(int argc, char **argv)
 		return -1;
 	}
 #endif
+	/* in secondary processes, memory init may allocate additional fbarrays
+	 * not present in primary processes, so to avoid any potential issues,
+	 * initialize memzones first.
+	 */
+	if (rte_eal_memzone_init() < 0) {
+		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot init memzone\n");
+		rte_errno = ENODEV;
+		return -1;
+	}
 
 	if (rte_eal_memory_init() < 0) {
 		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot init memory\n");
@@ -868,8 +877,8 @@ rte_eal_init(int argc, char **argv)
 	/* the directories are locked during eal_hugepage_info_init */
 	eal_hugedirs_unlock();
 
-	if (rte_eal_memzone_init() < 0) {
-		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot init memzone\n");
+	if (rte_eal_malloc_heap_init() < 0) {
+		rte_eal_init_alert("Cannot init malloc heap\n");
 		rte_errno = ENODEV;
 		return -1;
 	}
diff --git a/test/test/test_memzone.c b/test/test/test_memzone.c
index 0046f04..efcf732 100644
--- a/test/test/test_memzone.c
+++ b/test/test/test_memzone.c
@@ -909,7 +909,7 @@ test_memzone_basic(void)
 	const struct rte_memzone *mz;
 	int memzone_cnt_after, memzone_cnt_expected;
 	int memzone_cnt_before =
-			rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config->memzone_cnt;
+			rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config->memzones.count;
 
 	memzone1 = rte_memzone_reserve(TEST_MEMZONE_NAME("testzone1"), 100,
 				SOCKET_ID_ANY, 0);
@@ -933,7 +933,7 @@ test_memzone_basic(void)
 			(memzone3 != NULL) + (memzone4 != NULL);
 
 	memzone_cnt_after =
-			rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config->memzone_cnt;
+			rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config->memzones.count;
 
 	if (memzone_cnt_after != memzone_cnt_expected)
 		return -1;
@@ -1012,7 +1012,7 @@ test_memzone_basic(void)
 	}
 
 	memzone_cnt_after =
-			rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config->memzone_cnt;
+			rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config->memzones.count;
 	if (memzone_cnt_after != memzone_cnt_before)
 		return -1;
 
@@ -1033,7 +1033,8 @@ static int
 test_memzone(void)
 {
 	/* take note of how many memzones were allocated before running */
-	int memzone_cnt = rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config->memzone_cnt;
+	int memzone_cnt =
+			rte_eal_get_configuration()->mem_config->memzones.count;
 
 	printf("test basic memzone API\n");
 	if (test_memzone_basic() < 0)
