diff --git a/example/generator/odp_generator.c b/example/generator/odp_generator.c
index b10372e..102102f 100644
--- a/example/generator/odp_generator.c
+++ b/example/generator/odp_generator.c
@@ -542,7 +542,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	odp_atomic_init_u64(&counters.icmp);
 
 	/* Reserve memory for args from shared mem */
-	args = odp_shm_reserve("shm_args", sizeof(args_t), ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+	args = odp_shm_reserve("shm_args", sizeof(args_t), ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 	if (args == NULL) {
 		ODP_ERR("Error: shared mem alloc failed.\n");
 		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
@@ -587,7 +588,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 	/* Create packet pool */
 	pool_base = odp_shm_reserve("shm_packet_pool",
-				    SHM_PKT_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+				    SHM_PKT_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 	if (pool_base == NULL) {
 		ODP_ERR("Error: packet pool mem alloc failed.\n");
 		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
diff --git a/example/l2fwd/odp_l2fwd.c b/example/l2fwd/odp_l2fwd.c
index f89ea7a..3a78761 100644
--- a/example/l2fwd/odp_l2fwd.c
+++ b/example/l2fwd/odp_l2fwd.c
@@ -294,7 +294,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	}
 
 	/* Reserve memory for args from shared mem */
-	gbl_args = odp_shm_reserve("shm_args", sizeof(args_t), ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+	gbl_args = odp_shm_reserve("shm_args", sizeof(args_t),
+				 ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE, ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 	if (gbl_args == NULL) {
 		ODP_ERR("Error: shared mem alloc failed.\n");
 		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
@@ -345,7 +346,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 	/* Create packet pool */
 	pool_base = odp_shm_reserve("shm_packet_pool",
-				    SHM_PKT_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+				    SHM_PKT_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 	if (pool_base == NULL) {
 		ODP_ERR("Error: packet pool mem alloc failed.\n");
 		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
diff --git a/example/odp_example/odp_example.c b/example/odp_example/odp_example.c
index be96093..6d075b2 100644
--- a/example/odp_example/odp_example.c
+++ b/example/odp_example/odp_example.c
@@ -987,7 +987,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	 * Create message pool
 	 */
 	pool_base = odp_shm_reserve("msg_pool",
-				    MSG_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+				    MSG_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 
 	pool = odp_buffer_pool_create("msg_pool", pool_base, MSG_POOL_SIZE,
 				      sizeof(test_message_t),
diff --git a/example/packet/odp_pktio.c b/example/packet/odp_pktio.c
index 247a28a..c7ff4ef 100644
--- a/example/packet/odp_pktio.c
+++ b/example/packet/odp_pktio.c
@@ -291,7 +291,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	}
 
 	/* Reserve memory for args from shared mem */
-	args = odp_shm_reserve("shm_args", sizeof(args_t), ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+	args = odp_shm_reserve("shm_args", sizeof(args_t), ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 	if (args == NULL) {
 		ODP_ERR("Error: shared mem alloc failed.\n");
 		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
@@ -332,7 +333,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 	/* Create packet pool */
 	pool_base = odp_shm_reserve("shm_packet_pool",
-				    SHM_PKT_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+				    SHM_PKT_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 	if (pool_base == NULL) {
 		ODP_ERR("Error: packet pool mem alloc failed.\n");
 		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
diff --git a/example/timer/odp_timer_test.c b/example/timer/odp_timer_test.c
index dbe0e5b..113200b 100644
--- a/example/timer/odp_timer_test.c
+++ b/example/timer/odp_timer_test.c
@@ -260,7 +260,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	 * Create message pool
 	 */
 	pool_base = odp_shm_reserve("msg_pool",
-				    MSG_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+				    MSG_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 
 	pool = odp_buffer_pool_create("msg_pool", pool_base, MSG_POOL_SIZE,
 				      0,
diff --git a/include/odp_shared_memory.h b/include/odp_shared_memory.h
index 8ac8847..f1947a7 100644
--- a/include/odp_shared_memory.h
+++ b/include/odp_shared_memory.h
@@ -24,6 +24,13 @@ extern "C" {
 /** Maximum shared memory block name lenght in chars */
 #define ODP_SHM_NAME_LEN 32
 
+typedef enum {
+	ODP_SHM_THREAD,        /**< Memory accessible by threads.  */
+	ODP_SHM_PROC,          /**< Memory accessible by processes.
+				    Will be created if not exist.  */
+	ODP_SHM_PROC_NOCREAT,  /**< Memory accessible by processes.
+				    Has to be created before usage.*/
+} odp_shm_e;
 
 /**
  * Reserve a block of shared memory
@@ -31,10 +38,12 @@ extern "C" {
  * @param name   Name of the block (maximum ODP_SHM_NAME_LEN - 1 chars)
  * @param size   Block size in bytes
  * @param align  Block alignment in bytes
+ * @param flag   Flags for shared memory creation
  *
  * @return Pointer to the reserved block, or NULL
  */
-void *odp_shm_reserve(const char *name, uint64_t size, uint64_t align);
+void *odp_shm_reserve(const char *name, uint64_t size, uint64_t align,
+		      odp_shm_e flag);
 
 /**
  * Lookup for a block of shared memory
diff --git a/platform/linux-generic/odp_buffer_pool.c b/platform/linux-generic/odp_buffer_pool.c
index a48781a..9157994 100644
--- a/platform/linux-generic/odp_buffer_pool.c
+++ b/platform/linux-generic/odp_buffer_pool.c
@@ -102,7 +102,8 @@ int odp_buffer_pool_init_global(void)
 
 	pool_tbl = odp_shm_reserve("odp_buffer_pools",
 				   sizeof(pool_table_t),
-				   sizeof(pool_entry_t));
+				   sizeof(pool_entry_t),
+				   ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 
 	if (pool_tbl == NULL)
 		return -1;
diff --git a/platform/linux-generic/odp_packet_io.c b/platform/linux-generic/odp_packet_io.c
index 33ade10..050ade4 100644
--- a/platform/linux-generic/odp_packet_io.c
+++ b/platform/linux-generic/odp_packet_io.c
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@ int odp_pktio_init_global(void)
 
 	pktio_tbl = odp_shm_reserve("odp_pktio_entries",
 				    sizeof(pktio_table_t),
-				    sizeof(pktio_entry_t));
+				    sizeof(pktio_entry_t),
+				    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 	if (pktio_tbl == NULL)
 		return -1;
 
diff --git a/platform/linux-generic/odp_queue.c b/platform/linux-generic/odp_queue.c
index c637bdf..507331f 100644
--- a/platform/linux-generic/odp_queue.c
+++ b/platform/linux-generic/odp_queue.c
@@ -99,7 +99,8 @@ int odp_queue_init_global(void)
 
 	queue_tbl = odp_shm_reserve("odp_queues",
 				    sizeof(queue_table_t),
-				    sizeof(queue_entry_t));
+				    sizeof(queue_entry_t),
+				    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 
 	if (queue_tbl == NULL)
 		return -1;
diff --git a/platform/linux-generic/odp_ring.c b/platform/linux-generic/odp_ring.c
index 25ff66a..ee8175e 100644
--- a/platform/linux-generic/odp_ring.c
+++ b/platform/linux-generic/odp_ring.c
@@ -171,7 +171,8 @@ odp_ring_create(const char *name, unsigned count, unsigned flags)
 
 	odp_rwlock_write_lock(&qlock);
 	/* reserve a memory zone for this ring.*/
-	r = odp_shm_reserve(ring_name, ring_size, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+	r = odp_shm_reserve(ring_name, ring_size, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+			    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 
 	if (r != NULL) {
 		/* init the ring structure */
diff --git a/platform/linux-generic/odp_schedule.c b/platform/linux-generic/odp_schedule.c
index 9e399f1..9e76692 100644
--- a/platform/linux-generic/odp_schedule.c
+++ b/platform/linux-generic/odp_schedule.c
@@ -89,7 +89,8 @@ int odp_schedule_init_global(void)
 
 	sched = odp_shm_reserve("odp_scheduler",
 				sizeof(sched_t),
-				ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+				ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 
 	if (sched == NULL) {
 		ODP_ERR("Schedule init: Shm reserve failed.\n");
@@ -98,7 +99,8 @@ int odp_schedule_init_global(void)
 
 
 	pool_base = odp_shm_reserve("odp_sched_pool",
-				    SCHED_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+				    SCHED_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 
 	pool = odp_buffer_pool_create("odp_sched_pool", pool_base,
 				      SCHED_POOL_SIZE, sizeof(queue_desc_t),
diff --git a/platform/linux-generic/odp_shared_memory.c b/platform/linux-generic/odp_shared_memory.c
index 784f42b..0217b8a 100644
--- a/platform/linux-generic/odp_shared_memory.c
+++ b/platform/linux-generic/odp_shared_memory.c
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
 #include <sys/mman.h>
 #include <asm/mman.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
 
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <string.h>
@@ -95,9 +97,12 @@ static int find_block(const char *name)
 }
 
 
-void *odp_shm_reserve(const char *name, uint64_t size, uint64_t align)
+void *odp_shm_reserve(const char *name, uint64_t size, uint64_t align,
+		      odp_shm_e flag)
 {
-	int i;
+	int i, ret, shm_open_flags;
+	int shm = -1;
+	int mmap_flags = MAP_SHARED;
 	odp_shm_block_t *block;
 	void *addr;
 #ifdef MAP_HUGETLB
@@ -133,19 +138,42 @@ void *odp_shm_reserve(const char *name, uint64_t size, uint64_t align)
 	addr        = MAP_FAILED;
 	block->huge = 0;
 
+	if (flag != ODP_SHM_THREAD) {
+		shm_open_flags = O_RDWR;
+		if (flag == ODP_SHM_PROC)
+			shm_open_flags |= O_CREAT;
+
+		shm = shm_open(name, shm_open_flags, S_IRUSR | S_IWUSR);
+		if (shm == -1) {
+			odp_spinlock_unlock(&odp_shm_tbl->lock);
+			ODP_ERR("shm_open failed");
+			return NULL;
+		}
+
+		ret = ftruncate(shm, size + align);
+		if (ret == -1) {
+			odp_spinlock_unlock(&odp_shm_tbl->lock);
+			if (flag != ODP_SHM_PROC_NOCREAT)
+				shm_unlink(name);
+			ODP_ERR("ftruncate failed");
+			return NULL;
+		}
+	} else {
+		mmap_flags |= MAP_ANONYMOUS;
+	}
+
 #ifdef MAP_HUGETLB
 	/* Try first huge pages */
 	if (huge_sz && (size + align) > page_sz) {
 		addr = mmap(NULL, size + align, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE,
-			    SHM_FLAGS | MAP_HUGETLB, -1, 0);
+			    mmap_flags | MAP_HUGETLB, shm, 0);
 	}
 #endif
 
 	/* Use normal pages for small or failed huge page allocations */
 	if (addr == MAP_FAILED) {
 		addr = mmap(NULL, size + align, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE,
-			    SHM_FLAGS, -1, 0);
-
+			    mmap_flags, shm, 0);
 	} else {
 		block->huge = 1;
 	}
@@ -153,6 +181,8 @@ void *odp_shm_reserve(const char *name, uint64_t size, uint64_t align)
 	if (addr == MAP_FAILED) {
 		/* Alloc failed */
 		odp_spinlock_unlock(&odp_shm_tbl->lock);
+		if (flag != ODP_SHM_PROC_NOCREAT)
+			shm_unlink(name);
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
diff --git a/test/api_test/odp_shm_test.c b/test/api_test/odp_shm_test.c
index 318d662..fc448a4 100644
--- a/test/api_test/odp_shm_test.c
+++ b/test/api_test/odp_shm_test.c
@@ -47,7 +47,8 @@ int main(int argc ODP_UNUSED, char *argv[] ODP_UNUSED)
 	odp_print_system_info();
 
 	test_shared_data = odp_shm_reserve("test_shared_data",
-					   sizeof(test_shared_data_t), 128);
+					   sizeof(test_shared_data_t), 128,
+					   ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 	memset(test_shared_data, 0, sizeof(test_shared_data_t));
 	printf("test shared data at %p\n\n", test_shared_data);
 
diff --git a/test/api_test/odp_timer_ping.c b/test/api_test/odp_timer_ping.c
index c1cc255..88f830f 100644
--- a/test/api_test/odp_timer_ping.c
+++ b/test/api_test/odp_timer_ping.c
@@ -328,7 +328,8 @@ int main(int argc ODP_UNUSED, char *argv[] ODP_UNUSED)
 	 * Create message pool
 	 */
 	pool_base = odp_shm_reserve("msg_pool",
-				    MSG_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE);
+				    MSG_POOL_SIZE, ODP_CACHE_LINE_SIZE,
+				    ODP_SHM_THREAD);
 
 	pool = odp_buffer_pool_create("msg_pool", pool_base, MSG_POOL_SIZE,
 				      BUF_SIZE,
