diff --git a/src/vnet/devices/virtio/pci.c b/src/vnet/devices/virtio/pci.c
index df8e2bd..71d813a 100644
--- a/src/vnet/devices/virtio/pci.c
+++ b/src/vnet/devices/virtio/pci.c
@@ -1154,6 +1154,19 @@
 
   vnet_hw_interface_t *hw = vnet_get_hw_interface (vnm, vif->hw_if_index);
   hw->flags |= VNET_HW_INTERFACE_FLAG_SUPPORTS_INT_MODE;
+
+  if (args->virtio_flags & VIRTIO_FLAG_BUFFERING)
+    {
+      error = virtio_set_packet_buffering (vif, args->buffering_size);
+      if (error)
+	{
+	  args->rv = VNET_API_ERROR_INIT_FAILED;
+	  virtio_log_error (vif,
+			    "error encountered during packet buffering init");
+	  goto error;
+	}
+    }
+
   vnet_hw_interface_set_input_node (vnm, vif->hw_if_index,
 				    virtio_input_node.index);
   u32 i = 0;