RDMA Network Interface Controller Offload Engine
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current network communication systems require significant host processor resources to handle TCP/IP and RDMA operations, leading to increased overhead and latency, especially in high-speed connections.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an RDMA Network Interface Controller (RNIC) with an offload engine that generates and transmits RDMA segments directly from host memory without intermediate buffering, reducing the burden on the host processor by performing protocol operations and data placement within the network controller.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If host processor handles TCP/IP and RDMA operations, then protocol processing is performed, but host processor load increases and latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts TCP/IP and RDMA protocol processing operations from the host processor and implements them in the network controller's offload engine. This extraction allows the host processor to focus solely on data preparation while the network controller handles protocol operations, thereby reducing host processor load and minimizing latency in high-speed connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The network controller acts as an intermediary between the host processor and the network transmission. It receives data from the host processor, performs protocol processing (TCP/IP and RDMA operations), and transmits the processed data through the network interface. This intermediary role eliminates the need for the host processor to directly handle complex protocol operations.
2Ease of operation
If host processor handles network transmission requests, then I/O requests are processed, but host processor resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts I/O request processing capabilities from the host processor and implements them in the network controller's offload engine. The network controller receives I/O requests, processes them through the offload engine which handles protocol operations, and manages the actual network transmission. This extraction significantly reduces the computational resources required from the host processor.
3Ease of manufacture
If intermediate buffering is used for data transfer, then data placement is simplified, but overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous data placement directly from the host processor's memory to the network transmission path through the offload engine, eliminating intermediate buffering steps. The offload engine maintains continuous engagement with the data stream, processing protocol operations and managing data placement in a single uninterrupted operation, thereby eliminating the overhead associated with multiple buffering stages.
Data Source
AI summary
A network controller generates a remote direct memory access segment. In one embodiment, the controller generates an RDMA segment including an RDMA header, markers, and message segment data obtained in a direct memory access operation. Other embodiments are described and claimed.