diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_fbarray.c b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_fbarray.c
index ea0735cb8..5665282cd 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_fbarray.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_fbarray.c
@@ -1162,6 +1162,115 @@ fbarray_find_contig(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start, bool next,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int
+fbarray_find_biggest(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start, bool used,
+		bool rev)
+{
+	int cur_idx, next_idx, cur_len, biggest_idx, biggest_len;
+	/* don't stack if conditions, use function pointers instead */
+	int (*find_func)(struct rte_fbarray *, unsigned int);
+	int (*find_contig_func)(struct rte_fbarray *, unsigned int);
+
+	if (arr == NULL || start >= arr->len) {
+		rte_errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
+	/* the other API calls already do their fair share of cheap checks, so
+	 * no need to do them here.
+	 */
+
+	/* the API's called are thread-safe, but something may still happen
+	 * inbetween the API calls, so lock the fbarray. all other API's are
+	 * read-locking the fbarray, so read lock here is OK.
+	 */
+	rte_rwlock_read_lock(&arr->rwlock);
+
+	/* pick out appropriate functions */
+	if (used) {
+		if (rev) {
+			find_func = rte_fbarray_find_prev_used;
+			find_contig_func = rte_fbarray_find_rev_contig_used;
+		} else {
+			find_func = rte_fbarray_find_next_used;
+			find_contig_func = rte_fbarray_find_contig_used;
+		}
+	} else {
+		if (rev) {
+			find_func = rte_fbarray_find_prev_free;
+			find_contig_func = rte_fbarray_find_rev_contig_free;
+		} else {
+			find_func = rte_fbarray_find_next_free;
+			find_contig_func = rte_fbarray_find_contig_free;
+		}
+	}
+
+	cur_idx = start;
+	biggest_idx = -1; /* default is error */
+	biggest_len = 0;
+	for (;;) {
+		cur_idx = find_func(arr, cur_idx);
+
+		/* block found, check its length */
+		if (cur_idx >= 0) {
+			cur_len = find_contig_func(arr, cur_idx);
+			/* decide where we go next */
+			next_idx = rev ? cur_idx - cur_len : cur_idx + cur_len;
+			/* move current index to start of chunk */
+			cur_idx = rev ? next_idx + 1 : cur_idx;
+
+			if (cur_len > biggest_len) {
+				biggest_idx = cur_idx;
+				biggest_len = cur_len;
+			}
+			cur_idx = next_idx;
+			/* in reverse mode, next_idx may be -1 if chunk started
+			 * at array beginning. this means there's no more work
+			 * to do.
+			 */
+			if (cur_idx < 0)
+				break;
+		} else {
+			/* nothing more to find, stop. however, a failed API
+			 * call has set rte_errno, which we want to ignore, as
+			 * reaching the end of fbarray is not an error.
+			 */
+			rte_errno = 0;
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+	/* if we didn't find anything at all, set rte_errno */
+	if (biggest_idx < 0)
+		rte_errno = used ? ENOENT : ENOSPC;
+
+	rte_rwlock_read_unlock(&arr->rwlock);
+	return biggest_idx;
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_biggest_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start)
+{
+	return fbarray_find_biggest(arr, start, false, false);
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_biggest_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start)
+{
+	return fbarray_find_biggest(arr, start, true, false);
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_rev_biggest_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start)
+{
+	return fbarray_find_biggest(arr, start, false, true);
+}
+
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_rev_biggest_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start)
+{
+	return fbarray_find_biggest(arr, start, true, true);
+}
+
+
 int __rte_experimental
 rte_fbarray_find_contig_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start)
 {
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h
index 5d8805515..33841ca9a 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h
@@ -451,6 +451,76 @@ int __rte_experimental
 rte_fbarray_find_rev_contig_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start);
 
 
+/**
+ * Find index of biggest chunk of free elements, starting at specified index.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_biggest_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find index of biggest chunk of used elements, starting at specified index.
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_biggest_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find index of biggest chunk of free elements before a specified index (like
+ * ``rte_fbarray_find_biggest_free``, but going in reverse).
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_rev_biggest_free(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start);
+
+
+/**
+ * Find index of biggest chunk of used elements before a specified index (like
+ * ``rte_fbarray_find_biggest_used``, but going in reverse).
+ *
+ * @param arr
+ *   Valid pointer to allocated and correctly set up ``rte_fbarray`` structure.
+ *
+ * @param start
+ *   Element index to start search from.
+ *
+ * @return
+ *  - non-negative integer on success.
+ *  - -1 on failure, with ``rte_errno`` indicating reason for failure.
+ */
+int __rte_experimental
+rte_fbarray_find_rev_biggest_used(struct rte_fbarray *arr, unsigned int start);
+
+
 /**
  * Dump ``rte_fbarray`` metadata.
  *
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/rte_eal_version.map b/lib/librte_eal/rte_eal_version.map
index eb5f7b9cb..d78deaa8a 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/rte_eal_version.map
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/rte_eal_version.map
@@ -305,6 +305,8 @@ EXPERIMENTAL {
 	rte_fbarray_detach;
 	rte_fbarray_dump_metadata;
 	rte_fbarray_find_idx;
+	rte_fbarray_find_biggest_free;
+	rte_fbarray_find_biggest_used;
 	rte_fbarray_find_next_free;
 	rte_fbarray_find_next_used;
 	rte_fbarray_find_next_n_free;
@@ -315,6 +317,8 @@ EXPERIMENTAL {
 	rte_fbarray_find_prev_n_used;
 	rte_fbarray_find_contig_free;
 	rte_fbarray_find_contig_used;
+	rte_fbarray_find_rev_biggest_free;
+	rte_fbarray_find_rev_biggest_used;
 	rte_fbarray_find_rev_contig_free;
 	rte_fbarray_find_rev_contig_used;
 	rte_fbarray_get;
diff --git a/test/test/test_fbarray.c b/test/test/test_fbarray.c
index 8c44e2c7e..d2b041887 100644
--- a/test/test/test_fbarray.c
+++ b/test/test/test_fbarray.c
@@ -97,6 +97,8 @@ static int empty_msk_test_setup(void)
 {
 	/* do not fill anything in */
 	reset_array();
+	param.start = -1;
+	param.end = -1;
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -456,6 +458,157 @@ static int test_basic(void)
 	return TEST_SUCCESS;
 }
 
+static int test_biggest(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int first, int last)
+{
+	int lo_free_space_first, lo_free_space_last, lo_free_space_len;
+	int hi_free_space_first, hi_free_space_last, hi_free_space_len;
+	int max_free_space_first, max_free_space_last, max_free_space_len;
+	int len = last - first + 1;
+
+	/* first and last must either be both -1, or both not -1 */
+	TEST_ASSERT((first == -1) == (last == -1),
+			"Invalid arguments provided\n");
+
+	/* figure out what we expect from the low chunk of free space */
+	if (first == -1) {
+		/* special case: if there are no occupied elements at all,
+		 * consider both free spaces to consume the entire array.
+		 */
+		lo_free_space_first = 0;
+		lo_free_space_last = arr->len - 1;
+		lo_free_space_len = arr->len;
+		/* if there's no used space, length should be invalid */
+		len = -1;
+	} else if (first == 0) {
+		/* if occupied items start at 0, there's no free space */
+		lo_free_space_first = -1;
+		lo_free_space_last = -1;
+		lo_free_space_len = 0;
+	} else {
+		lo_free_space_first = 0;
+		lo_free_space_last = first - 1;
+		lo_free_space_len = lo_free_space_last -
+				lo_free_space_first + 1;
+	}
+
+	/* figure out what we expect from the high chunk of free space */
+	if (last == -1) {
+		/* special case: if there are no occupied elements at all,
+		 * consider both free spaces to consume the entire array.
+		 */
+		hi_free_space_first = 0;
+		hi_free_space_last = arr->len - 1;
+		hi_free_space_len = arr->len;
+		/* if there's no used space, length should be invalid */
+		len = -1;
+	} else if (last == ((int)arr->len - 1)) {
+		/* if occupied items end at array len, there's no free space */
+		hi_free_space_first = -1;
+		hi_free_space_last = -1;
+		hi_free_space_len = 0;
+	} else {
+		hi_free_space_first = last + 1;
+		hi_free_space_last = arr->len - 1;
+		hi_free_space_len = hi_free_space_last -
+				hi_free_space_first + 1;
+	}
+
+	/* find which one will be biggest */
+	if (lo_free_space_len > hi_free_space_len) {
+		max_free_space_first = lo_free_space_first;
+		max_free_space_last = lo_free_space_last;
+		max_free_space_len = lo_free_space_len;
+	} else {
+		/* if they are equal, we'll just use the high chunk */
+		max_free_space_first = hi_free_space_first;
+		max_free_space_last = hi_free_space_last;
+		max_free_space_len = hi_free_space_len;
+	}
+
+	/* check used regions - these should produce identical results */
+	TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_biggest_used(arr, 0), first,
+			"Used space index is wrong\n");
+	TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_rev_biggest_used(arr, arr->len - 1),
+			first,
+			"Used space index is wrong\n");
+	/* len may be -1, but function will return error anyway */
+	TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_contig_used(arr, first), len,
+			"Used space length is wrong\n");
+
+	/* check if biggest free region is the one we expect to find. It can be
+	 * -1 if there's no free space - we've made sure we use one or the
+	 * other, even if both are invalid.
+	 */
+	TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_biggest_free(arr, 0),
+			max_free_space_first,
+			"Biggest free space index is wrong\n");
+	TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_rev_biggest_free(arr, arr->len - 1),
+			max_free_space_first,
+			"Biggest free space index is wrong\n");
+
+	/* if biggest region exists, check its length */
+	if (max_free_space_first != -1) {
+		TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_contig_free(arr,
+					max_free_space_first),
+				max_free_space_len,
+				"Biggest free space length is wrong\n");
+		TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_rev_contig_free(arr,
+					max_free_space_last),
+				max_free_space_len,
+				"Biggest free space length is wrong\n");
+	}
+
+	/* find if we see what we expect to see in the low region. if there is
+	 * no free space, the function should still match expected value, as
+	 * we've set it to -1. we're scanning backwards to avoid accidentally
+	 * hitting the high free space region. if there is no occupied space,
+	 * there's nothing to do.
+	 */
+	if (last != -1) {
+		TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_rev_biggest_free(arr, last),
+				lo_free_space_first,
+				"Low free space index is wrong\n");
+	}
+
+	if (lo_free_space_first != -1) {
+		/* if low free region exists, check its length */
+		TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_contig_free(arr,
+					lo_free_space_first),
+				lo_free_space_len,
+				"Low free space length is wrong\n");
+		TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_rev_contig_free(arr,
+					lo_free_space_last),
+				lo_free_space_len,
+				"Low free space length is wrong\n");
+	}
+
+	/* find if we see what we expect to see in the high region. if there is
+	 * no free space, the function should still match expected value, as
+	 * we've set it to -1. we're scanning forwards to avoid accidentally
+	 * hitting the low free space region. if there is no occupied space,
+	 * there's nothing to do.
+	 */
+	if (first != -1) {
+		TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_biggest_free(arr, first),
+				hi_free_space_first,
+				"High free space index is wrong\n");
+	}
+
+	/* if high free region exists, check its length */
+	if (hi_free_space_first != -1) {
+		TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_contig_free(arr,
+					hi_free_space_first),
+				hi_free_space_len,
+				"High free space length is wrong\n");
+		TEST_ASSERT_EQUAL(rte_fbarray_find_rev_contig_free(arr,
+					hi_free_space_last),
+				hi_free_space_len,
+				"High free space length is wrong\n");
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 static int ensure_correct(struct rte_fbarray *arr, int first, int last,
 		bool used)
 {
@@ -537,6 +690,9 @@ static int test_find(void)
 	if (ensure_correct(&param.arr, param.end + 1, FBARRAY_TEST_LEN - 1,
 			false))
 		return TEST_FAILED;
+	/* test if find_biggest API's work correctly */
+	if (test_biggest(&param.arr, param.start, param.end))
+		return TEST_FAILED;
 	return TEST_SUCCESS;
 }
 
@@ -546,6 +702,9 @@ static int test_empty(void)
 	/* ensure space is free */
 	if (ensure_correct(&param.arr, 0, FBARRAY_TEST_LEN - 1, false))
 		return TEST_FAILED;
+	/* test if find_biggest API's work correctly */
+	if (test_biggest(&param.arr, param.start, param.end))
+		return TEST_FAILED;
 	return TEST_SUCCESS;
 }
 
