diff --git a/lib/netdev-dpdk.c b/lib/netdev-dpdk.c
index 609b8da33..61bfe3499 100644
--- a/lib/netdev-dpdk.c
+++ b/lib/netdev-dpdk.c
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright (c) 2014, 2015, 2016 Nicira, Inc.
+ * Copyright (c) 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Nicira, Inc.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -2213,10 +2213,12 @@ static int
 netdev_dpdk_get_ifindex(const struct netdev *netdev)
 {
     struct netdev_dpdk *dev = netdev_dpdk_cast(netdev);
-    int ifindex;
 
     ovs_mutex_lock(&dev->mutex);
-    ifindex = dev->port_id;
+    /* Calculate hash from the netdev name. Ensure that ifindex is a 24-bit
+     * postive integer to meet RFC 2863 recommendations.
+     */
+    int ifindex = hash_string(netdev->name, 0) % 0xfffffe + 1;
     ovs_mutex_unlock(&dev->mutex);
 
     return ifindex;