InfiniBand

InfiniBand originated in 1999 from the merger of two competing designs: Future I/O and Next Generation I/O (NGIO). NGIO was led by Intel, with a specification released in 1998,{{Cite news |title= Intel Introduces Next Generation I/O for Computing Servers |author= Scott Bekker |date= November 11, 1998 |url= https://rcpmag.com/articles/1998/11/11/intel-introduces-next-generation-io-for-computing-servers.aspx |work= Redmond Channel Partner |access-date= September 28, 2021 }} and joined by Sun Microsystems and Dell.

Future I/O was backed by Compaq, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard.{{Cite news |title= Warring NGIO and Future I/O groups to merge |author= Will Wade |date= August 31, 1999 |work= EE Times |url= https://www.eetimes.com/warring-ngio-and-future-i-o-groups-to-merge/ |access-date= September 26, 2021 }}

This led to the formation of the InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA), which included both sets of hardware vendors as well as software vendors such as Microsoft.

At the time it was thought some of the more powerful computers were approaching the interconnect bottleneck of the PCI bus, in spite of upgrades like PCI-X.{{cite web|last1=Pentakalos|first1=Odysseas|title=An Introduction to the InfiniBand Architecture|url=http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2002/02/04/windows.html|website=O'Reilly|access-date=28 July 2014}} Version 1.0 of the InfiniBand Architecture Specification was released in 2000. Initially the IBTA vision for IB was simultaneously a replacement for PCI in I/O, Ethernet in the machine room, cluster interconnect and Fibre Channel. IBTA also envisaged decomposing server hardware on an IB fabric.

Mellanox had been founded in 1999 to develop NGIO technology, but by 2001 shipped an InfiniBand product line called InfiniBridge at 10 Gbit/second speeds.{{cite web |title= Timeline |url= http://www.mellanox.com/page/timeline |publisher=Mellanox Technologies |access-date= September 26, 2021 }}

Following the burst of the dot-com bubble there was hesitation in the industry to invest in such a far-reaching technology jump.{{cite web|last1=Kim|first1=Ted|title=Brief History of InfiniBand: Hype to Pragmatism|url=https://blogs.oracle.com/RandomDude/entry/history_hype_to_pragmatism|publisher=Oracle |access-date= September 28, 2021 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808200954/https://blogs.oracle.com/RandomDude/entry/history_hype_to_pragmatism|archive-date=8 August 2014}}

By 2002, Intel announced that instead of shipping IB integrated circuits ("chips"), it would focus on developing PCI Express, and Microsoft discontinued IB development in favor of extending Ethernet. Sun Microsystems and Hitachi continued to support IB.{{cite web |title=Sun confirms commitment to InfiniBand |date= December 2, 2002 |author= Computerwire |url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/12/30/sun_confirms_commitment_to_infiniband/ |website=The Register |access-date= September 26, 2021 }}

In 2003, the System X supercomputer built at Virginia Tech used InfiniBand in what was estimated to be the third largest computer in the world at the time.{{Cite news |title= Virginia Tech Builds 10 TeraFlop Computer |url= https://www.rdworldonline.com/virginia-tech-builds-10-teraflop-computer/ |work= R&D World |date= November 30, 2003 |access-date= September 28, 2021 }}

The OpenIB Alliance (later renamed OpenFabrics Alliance) was founded in 2004 to develop an open set of software for the Linux kernel. By February, 2005, the support was accepted into the 2.6.11 Linux kernel.{{cite news | title= Linux Kernel 2.6.11 Supports InfiniBand |url= http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3485401 |work= Internet News |author= Sean Michael Kerner |date= February 24, 2005 |access-date= September 28, 2021 }}{{cite news| title= OpenIB Alliance Achieves Acceptance By Kernel.org |url= https://www.hpcwire.com/2005/01/21/openib-alliance-achieves-acceptance-by-kernel-org/ |work= Press release |date= January 21, 2005 |author= OpenIB Alliance |access-date= September 28, 2021 }}

In November 2005 storage devices finally were released using InfiniBand from vendors such as Engenio.{{Citation | url = http://www.infostor.com/index/articles/display/248655/articles/infostor/volume-10/issue-2/news-analysis-trends/news-analysis-trends/is-infiniband-poised-for-a-comeback.html | title = Is InfiniBand poised for a comeback? | journal = Infostor |author= Ann Silverthorn |volume = 10 | issue = 2 |date= January 12, 2006 |access-date= September 28, 2021 }}

Cisco, desiring to keep technology superior to Ethernet off the market, adopted a "buy to kill" strategy. Cisco successfully killed InfiniBand switching companies such as Topspin via acquisition.{{cite web |last1=Connor |first1=Deni |title=What Cisco-Topspin deal means for InfiniBand |url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/863883/data-center-what-cisco-topspin-deal-means-for-infiniband.html |website=Network World |access-date=19 June 2024 |language=en}} {{Citation needed|reason=Given citation doesn't support the allegation|date=August 2024}}

Of the top 500 supercomputers in 2009, Gigabit Ethernet was the internal interconnect technology in 259 installations, compared with 181 using InfiniBand.{{cite web |last1= Lawson |first1= Stephen |title= Two rival supercomputers duke it out for top spot |url= https://www.computerworld.com/article/2521602/two-rival-supercomputers-duke-it-out-for-top-spot.html |date= November 16, 2009 |work= Computerworld |access-date= September 29, 2021 |archive-date= September 29, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210929213924/https://www.computerworld.com/article/2521602/two-rival-supercomputers-duke-it-out-for-top-spot.html |url-status= dead }}

In 2010, market leaders Mellanox and Voltaire merged, leaving just one other IB vendor, QLogic, primarily a Fibre Channel vendor.{{cite web|last1=Raffo|first1=Dave|title=Largest InfiniBand vendors merge; eye converged networks|url=http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/storage-soup/largest-infiniband-vendors-merge-eye-converged-networks/|access-date=29 July 2014|archive-date=1 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701002647/http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/storage-soup/largest-infiniband-vendors-merge-eye-converged-networks/|url-status=dead}}

At the 2011 International Supercomputing Conference, links running at about 56 gigabits per second (known as FDR, see below), were announced and demonstrated by connecting booths in the trade show.{{cite news |url= http://www.cio.com/article/684732/Mellanox_Demos_Souped_Up_Version_of_Infiniband |title = Mellanox Demos Souped-Up Version of InfiniBand |work= CIO |author= Mikael Ricknäs |date= June 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-date= April 6, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120406182103/http://www.cio.com/article/684732/Mellanox_Demos_Souped_Up_Version_of_Infiniband |access-date= September 30, 2021 }}

In 2012, Intel acquired QLogic's InfiniBand technology, leaving only one independent supplier.{{cite news | url = https://www.hpcwire.com/2012/01/23/intel_snaps_up_infiniband_technology_product_line_from_qlogic/ | title = Intel Snaps Up InfiniBand Technology, Product Line from QLogic |work= HPCwire |author= Michael Feldman |date= January 23, 2012 |access-date= September 29, 2021 }}

By 2014, InfiniBand was the most popular internal connection technology for supercomputers, although within two years, 10 Gigabit Ethernet started displacing it.

In 2016, it was reported that Oracle Corporation (an investor in Mellanox) might engineer its own InfiniBand hardware.

In 2019 Nvidia acquired Mellanox, the last independent supplier of InfiniBand products.{{Cite news |title= Nvidia to Acquire Mellanox for $6.9 Billion |date= March 11, 2019 |work= Press release |url= https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-to-acquire-mellanox-for-6-9-billion |access-date= September 26, 2021 }}

Specifications are published by the InfiniBand trade association.

Original names for speeds were single-data rate (SDR), double-data rate (DDR) and quad-data rate (QDR) as given below. Subsequently, other three-letter acronyms were added for even higher data rates.{{Cite web |date=November 11, 2021 |title=FDR InfiniBand Fact Sheet |url=https://cw.infinibandta.org/document/dl/7260 |access-date=September 30, 2021 |publisher=InfiniBand Trade Association |archive-date=August 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826064526/https://cw.infinibandta.org/document/dl/7260 |url-status=dead }}

; Notes

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Each link is duplex. Links can be aggregated: most systems use a 4 link/lane connector (QSFP). HDR often makes use of 2x links (aka HDR100, 100 Gb link using 2 lanes of HDR, while still using a QSFP connector). 8x is called for with NDR switch ports using OSFP (Octal Small Form Factor Pluggable) connectors {{Cite web |url=https://docs.nvidia.com/networking/display/cablemanagfaq/cable+and+connector+definitions|title=Cable and Connector Definitions | language=en-US}}

InfiniBand provides remote direct memory access (RDMA) capabilities for low CPU overhead.

InfiniBand uses a switched fabric topology, as opposed to early shared medium Ethernet. All transmissions begin or end at a channel adapter. Each processor contains a host channel adapter (HCA) and each peripheral has a target channel adapter (TCA). These adapters can also exchange information for security or quality of service (QoS).

InfiniBand transmits data in packets of up to 4 KB that are taken together to form a message. A message can be:

• a remote direct memory access read or write
• a channel send or receive
• a transaction-based operation (that can be reversed)
• a multicast transmission
• an atomic operation

Image:Infinibandport.jpg

In addition to a board form factor connection, it can use both active and passive copper (up to 10 meters) and optical fiber cable (up to 10 km).{{cite web|title=Specification FAQ|url=http://www.infinibandta.org/content/pages.php?pg=technology_faq|publisher=ITA|access-date=30 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124000007/http://infinibandta.org/content/pages.php?pg=technology_faq|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=dead}}

QSFP connectors are used.

The InfiniBand Association also specified the CXP connector system for speeds up to 120 Gbit/s over copper, active optical cables, and optical transceivers using parallel multi-mode fiber cables with 24-fiber MPO connectors.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

Mellanox operating system support is available for Solaris, FreeBSD,{{cite web|title=Mellanox OFED for FreeBSD|url=http://www.mellanox.com/page/products_dyn?product_family=193|publisher=Mellanox|access-date=19 September 2018}}{{cite web |author1=Mellanox Technologies |title=FreeBSD Kernel Interfaces Manual, mlx5en |url=https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=mlx5en |website=FreeBSD Man Pages |publisher=FreeBSD |access-date=19 September 2018 |language=en |date=3 December 2015}} Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), Windows, HP-UX, VMware ESX,{{cite web|title=InfiniBand Cards - Overview|url= http://www.mellanox.com/page/infiniband_cards_overview|publisher= Mellanox|access-date= 30 July 2014}} and AIX.{{cite web|title=Implementing InfiniBand on IBM System p (IBM Redbook SG24-7351-00)|url=http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg247351.pdf}}

InfiniBand has no specific standard application programming interface (API). The standard only lists a set of verbs such as ibv_open_device or ibv_post_send, which are abstract representations of functions or methods that must exist. The syntax of these functions is left to the vendors. Sometimes for reference this is called the verbs API. The de facto standard software is developed by OpenFabrics Alliance and called the Open Fabrics Enterprise Distribution (OFED). It is released under two licenses GPL2 or BSD license for Linux and FreeBSD, and as Mellanox OFED for Windows (product names: WinOF / WinOF-2; attributed as host controller driver for matching specific ConnectX 3 to 5 devices)[http://www.mellanox.com/page/products_dyn?product_family=32&menu_section=34 Mellanox OFED for Windows - WinOF / WinOF-2] under a choice of BSD license for Windows.

It has been adopted by most of the InfiniBand vendors, for Linux, FreeBSD, and Microsoft Windows. IBM refers to a software library called libibverbs, for its AIX operating system, as well as "AIX InfiniBand verbs".{{Cite web |title= Verbs API |work= IBM AIX 7.1 documentation |url= https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/en/ssw_aix_71/com.ibm.aix.rdma/verbs_API.htm |date= 2020 |access-date= September 26, 2021 }}

The Linux kernel support was integrated in 2005 into the kernel version 2.6.11.{{Cite web |title= Verbs programming tutorial |date= March 11, 2014 |author= Dotan Barak |publisher= Mellanox |work= OpenSHEM, 2014 |url= https://www.csm.ornl.gov/workshops/openshmem2014/documents/presentations_and_tutorials/Tutorials/Verbs%20programming%20tutorial-final.pdf |access-date= September 26, 2021 }}

Ethernet over InfiniBand, abbreviated to EoIB, is an Ethernet implementation over the InfiniBand protocol and connector technology.

EoIB enables multiple Ethernet bandwidths varying on the InfiniBand (IB) version.{{cite web|title=10 Advantages of InfiniBand | url=https://www.naddod.com/blog/top-10-advantages-of-infiniband |website=NADDOD|access-date=January 28, 2023}}

Ethernet's implementation of the Internet Protocol Suite, usually referred to as TCP/IP, is different in some details compared to the direct InfiniBand protocol in IP over IB (IPoIB).

• 100 Gigabit Ethernet
• iSCSI Extensions for RDMA
• iWARP
• List of interface bit rates
• Optical communication
• Parallel optical interface
• SCSI RDMA Protocol

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Citation | arxiv = 1105.1827 | title = Dissecting a Small InfiniBand Application Using the Verbs API | bibcode = 2011arXiv1105.1827K | last1 = Kerr | first1 = Gregory | year = 2011 }}
• [http://www.infinibandta.org/ InfiniBand Trade Association web site]

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