diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index d22ad14..e6752d6 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ v2.9.0 - 19 Feb 2018
        pmd assignments.
      * Add rxq utilization of pmd to appctl 'dpif-netdev/pmd-rxq-show'.
      * Add support for vHost dequeue zero copy (experimental)
+     * Add support for multi-segment mbufs
    - Userspace datapath:
      * Output packet batching support.
    - vswitchd:
diff --git a/lib/dpdk.c b/lib/dpdk.c
index 00dd974..1447724 100644
--- a/lib/dpdk.c
+++ b/lib/dpdk.c
@@ -459,6 +459,13 @@ dpdk_init__(const struct smap *ovs_other_config)
 
     /* Finally, register the dpdk classes */
     netdev_dpdk_register();
+
+    bool multi_seg_mbufs_enable = smap_get_bool(ovs_other_config,
+            "dpdk-multi-seg-mbufs", false);
+    if (multi_seg_mbufs_enable) {
+        VLOG_INFO("DPDK multi-segment mbufs enabled\n");
+        netdev_dpdk_multi_segment_mbufs_enable();
+    }
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/lib/netdev-dpdk.c b/lib/netdev-dpdk.c
index 4c6a3c0..5746ae0 100644
--- a/lib/netdev-dpdk.c
+++ b/lib/netdev-dpdk.c
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ enum {VIRTIO_RXQ, VIRTIO_TXQ, VIRTIO_QNUM};
 
 VLOG_DEFINE_THIS_MODULE(netdev_dpdk);
 static struct vlog_rate_limit rl = VLOG_RATE_LIMIT_INIT(5, 20);
+static bool dpdk_multi_segment_mbufs = false;
 
 #define DPDK_PORT_WATCHDOG_INTERVAL 5
 
@@ -593,6 +594,7 @@ dpdk_mp_create(struct netdev_dpdk *dev, uint16_t mbuf_pkt_data_len)
               + dev->requested_n_txq * dev->requested_txq_size
               + MIN(RTE_MAX_LCORE, dev->requested_n_rxq) * NETDEV_MAX_BURST
               + MIN_NB_MBUF;
+    /* XXX: should n_mbufs be increased if multi-seg mbufs are used? */
 
     ovs_mutex_lock(&dpdk_mp_mutex);
     do {
@@ -693,7 +695,13 @@ dpdk_mp_release(struct rte_mempool *mp)
 
 /* Tries to allocate a new mempool - or re-use an existing one where
  * appropriate - on requested_socket_id with a size determined by
- * requested_mtu and requested Rx/Tx queues.
+ * requested_mtu and requested Rx/Tx queues. Some properties of the mempool's
+ * elements are dependent on the value of 'dpdk_multi_segment_mbufs':
+ * - if 'true', then the mempool contains standard-sized mbufs that are chained
+ *   together to accommodate packets of size 'requested_mtu'.
+ * - if 'false', then the members of the allocated mempool are
+ *   non-standard-sized mbufs. Each mbuf in the mempool is large enough to
+ *   fully accomdate packets of size 'requested_mtu'.
  * On success - or when re-using an existing mempool - the new configuration
  * will be applied.
  * On error, device will be left unchanged. */
@@ -701,10 +709,18 @@ static int
 netdev_dpdk_mempool_configure(struct netdev_dpdk *dev)
     OVS_REQUIRES(dev->mutex)
 {
-    uint16_t buf_size = dpdk_buf_size(dev->requested_mtu);
+    uint16_t buf_size = 0;
     struct rte_mempool *mp;
     int ret = 0;
 
+    /* Contiguous mbufs in use - permit oversized mbufs */
+    if (!dpdk_multi_segment_mbufs) {
+        buf_size = dpdk_buf_size(dev->requested_mtu);
+    } else {
+        /* multi-segment mbufs - use standard mbuf size */
+        buf_size = dpdk_buf_size(ETHER_MTU);
+    }
+
     dpdk_mp_sweep();
 
     mp = dpdk_mp_create(dev, buf_size);
@@ -786,11 +802,25 @@ dpdk_eth_dev_queue_setup(struct netdev_dpdk *dev, int n_rxq, int n_txq)
     int diag = 0;
     int i;
     struct rte_eth_conf conf = port_conf;
+    struct rte_eth_txconf txconf;
+
+    /* Multi-segment-mbuf-specific setup. */
+    if (dpdk_multi_segment_mbufs) {
+            struct rte_eth_dev_info dev_info;
+
+            /* DPDK PMDs typically attempt to use simple or vectorized
+             * transmit functions, neither of which are compatible with
+             * multi-segment mbufs. Ensure that these are disabled when
+             * multi-segment mbufs are enabled.
+             */
+            rte_eth_dev_info_get(dev->port_id, &dev_info);
+            txconf = dev_info.default_txconf;
+            txconf.txq_flags &= ~ETH_TXQ_FLAGS_NOMULTSEGS;
 
-    /* For some NICs (e.g. Niantic), scatter_rx mode needs to be explicitly
-     * enabled. */
-    if (dev->mtu > ETHER_MTU) {
-        conf.rxmode.enable_scatter = 1;
+            /* For some NICs (e.g. Niantic), scattered_rx mode (required for
+             * ingress jumbo frames when multi-segments are enabled) needs to
+             * be explicitly enabled. */
+            conf.rxmode.enable_scatter = 1;
     }
 
     conf.rxmode.hw_ip_checksum = (dev->hw_ol_features &
@@ -821,7 +851,9 @@ dpdk_eth_dev_queue_setup(struct netdev_dpdk *dev, int n_rxq, int n_txq)
 
         for (i = 0; i < n_txq; i++) {
             diag = rte_eth_tx_queue_setup(dev->port_id, i, dev->txq_size,
-                                          dev->socket_id, NULL);
+                                          dev->socket_id,
+                                          dpdk_multi_segment_mbufs ? &txconf
+                                                                   : NULL);
             if (diag) {
                 VLOG_INFO("Interface %s unable to setup txq(%d): %s",
                           dev->up.name, i, rte_strerror(-diag));
@@ -3868,6 +3900,12 @@ unlock:
     return err;
 }
 
+void
+netdev_dpdk_multi_segment_mbufs_enable(void)
+{
+    dpdk_multi_segment_mbufs = true;
+}
+
 #define NETDEV_DPDK_CLASS(NAME, INIT, CONSTRUCT, DESTRUCT,    \
                           SET_CONFIG, SET_TX_MULTIQ, SEND,    \
                           GET_CARRIER, GET_STATS,			  \
diff --git a/lib/netdev-dpdk.h b/lib/netdev-dpdk.h
index b7d02a7..a3339fe 100644
--- a/lib/netdev-dpdk.h
+++ b/lib/netdev-dpdk.h
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ struct dp_packet;
 
 #ifdef DPDK_NETDEV
 
+void netdev_dpdk_multi_segment_mbufs_enable(void);
 void netdev_dpdk_register(void);
 void free_dpdk_buf(struct dp_packet *);
 
diff --git a/vswitchd/vswitch.xml b/vswitchd/vswitch.xml
index 9c2a826..5ef0926 100644
--- a/vswitchd/vswitch.xml
+++ b/vswitchd/vswitch.xml
@@ -331,6 +331,26 @@
         </p>
       </column>
 
+      <column name="other_config" key="dpdk-multi-seg-mbufs"
+              type='{"type": "boolean"}'>
+        <p>
+          Specifies if DPDK uses multi-segment mbufs for handling jumbo frames.
+        </p>
+        <p>
+            If true, DPDK allocates a single mempool per port, irrespective
+            of the ports' requested MTU sizes. The elements of this mempool are
+            'standard'-sized mbufs (typically 2k MB), which may be chained
+            together to accommodate jumbo frames. In this approach, each mbuf
+            typically stores a fragment of the overall jumbo frame.
+        </p>
+        <p>
+            If not specified, defaults to <code>false</code>, in which case,
+            the size of each mbuf within a DPDK port's mempool will be grown to
+            accommodate jumbo frames within a single mbuf.
+        </p>
+      </column>
+
+
       <column name="other_config" key="vhost-sock-dir"
               type='{"type": "string"}'>
         <p>
