diff --git a/examples/ioat/ioatfwd.c b/examples/ioat/ioatfwd.c
index e9117718fe..b39a098ec0 100644
--- a/examples/ioat/ioatfwd.c
+++ b/examples/ioat/ioatfwd.c
@@ -824,7 +824,11 @@ port_init(uint16_t portid, struct rte_mempool *mbuf_pool, uint16_t nb_queues)
 	/* Init port */
 	printf("Initializing port %u... ", portid);
 	fflush(stdout);
-	rte_eth_dev_info_get(portid, &dev_info);
+	ret = rte_eth_dev_info_get(portid, &dev_info);
+	if (ret < 0)
+		rte_exit(EXIT_FAILURE, "Cannot get device info: %s, port=%u\n",
+			rte_strerror(-ret), portid);
+
 	local_port_conf.rx_adv_conf.rss_conf.rss_hf &=
 		dev_info.flow_type_rss_offloads;
 	if (dev_info.tx_offload_capa & DEV_TX_OFFLOAD_MBUF_FAST_FREE)