Infiniband TM work queue to TCP/IP translation

• US 20030014544A1
• Filed: 02/15/2001
• Published: 01/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: NetEffect, Inc. (Intel Corporation)
• Inventors: Pettey, Christopher J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,149,817 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/249
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/162 involving adaptations of sockets based mechanisms secure socket layer H04L63/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/168 specially adapted for link layer protocols, e.g. asynchronous transfer mode [ATM], synchronous optical network [SONET] or point-to-point protocol [PPP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/169 Special adaptations of TCP, UDP or IP for interworking of IP based networks with other networks protocols for interworking, protocol conversion H04L69/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An apparatus and method are provided that allow a server to offload TCP/IP-related processing. The apparatus provides TCP-aware target adapter for accelerating TCP/IP connections between clients and servers, where the servers are interconnected over an Infiniband™ fabric and the clients are interconnected over a TCP/IP-based network. The TCP-aware target adapter includes an accelerated connection processor and a target channel adapter. The accelerated connection processor bridges TCP/IP transactions between the clients and the servers. The accelerated connection processor accelerates the TCP/IP connections by prescribing Infiniband remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide transaction data from/to the servers. The target channel adapter is coupled to the accelerated connection processor. The target channel adapter supports Infiniband operations with the servers, including execution of the remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide the transaction data.

Claims

1. A TCP-aware target adapter, for accelerating TCP/IP connections between a plurality of clients and a plurality of servers, the plurality of servers being accessed via an Infiniband fabric, the plurality of clients being accessed via a TCP/IP network, the TCP-aware target adapter comprising:

an accelerated connection processor, configured to bridge TCP/IP transactions between the plurality of clients and the plurality of servers, wherein said accelerated connection processor accelerates the TCP/IP connections by prescribing remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide transaction data from/to the plurality of servers; and

a target channel adapter, coupled to said accelerated connection processor, configured to support Infiniband operations with the plurality of servers, and configured to execute said remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide said transaction data.

2. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 1, wherein said accelerated connection processor comprises:

a plurality of native network ports, each of said native network ports communicating with the plurality of clients in a native network protocol corresponding to the plurality of clients.

3. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 2, wherein said native network protocol comprises one of the following protocols:

Ethernet, Wireless Ethernet, Fiber Distributed Data Interconnect (FDDI), Attached Resource Computer Network (ARCNET), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and Token Ring.

4. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 2, wherein said accelerated connection processor supports TCP/IP transactions with the plurality of clients by receiving/transmitting native transactions in accordance with said native network protocol.

5. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 4, wherein each of a plurality of accelerated TCP/IP connections comprises:

a plurality of said remote direct memory access operations between a particular server and said target channel adapter to retrieve/provide particular transaction data from/to said particular server; and

corresponding native transactions between said accelerated connection processor and a particular client to provide/retrieve said particular transaction data to/from said particular client.

6. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 5, wherein said accelerated connection processor comprises:

a connection correlator, configured to associate TCP/IP connection parameters with a target work queue number for said each of a plurality of accelerated TCP/IP connections.

7. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 6, wherein said TCP/IP connection parameters comprise:

source TCP port number, destination TCP port number, source IP address, and destination IP address.

8. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 6, wherein said target work queue number corresponds to a host work queue number within a specific server, said specific server being designated by said accelerated connection processor to support said each of a plurality of accelerated TCP/IP connections with a specific client.

9. An apparatus in a server connected to an Infiniband fabric for implementing accelerated TCP/IP connections between the server and clients, the clients being connected to a TCP/IP network, the apparatus comprising:

a connection acceleration driver, configured to manage the accelerated TCP/IP connections, wherein said connection acceleration driver designates memory locations within server memory such that transaction data can be retrieved/provided via Infiniband remote direct memory access operations; and

a host channel adapter, coupled to said connection acceleration driver, configured to execute Infiniband operations via the Infiniband fabric, and configured to execute direct memory access functions to retrieve/provide said transaction data responsive to said Infiniband remote direct memory access operations.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein a particular accelerated TCP/IP connection comprises:

a plurality of said remote direct memory access operations between the server and a TCP-aware target adapter to retrieve/provide particular transaction data from/to a particular memory location; and

corresponding native transactions between said TCP-aware target adapter and a particular client to provide/retrieve said particular transaction data to/from said particular client.

11. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein said connection acceleration driver comprises:

native queue logic, configured to interpret a native network protocol corresponding to the clients, and configured to request/receive first Infiniband operations having native TCP/IP transactions to/from the clients that are embedded within Infiniband packets;

accelerated queue logic, configured to request second Infiniband operations to establish the accelerated TCP/IP connections, said second Infiniband operations designating said memory locations; and

a transport driver interface mux, coupled to said accelerated queue logic, configured to receive said memory locations from application programs, and configured to provide said memory locations to said accelerated queue logic.

12. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein said transport driver interface mux is coupled via a transport driver interface to a TCP/IP stack within the server.

13. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, wherein said connection acceleration driver further comprises:

correlation logic, configured to associate TCP/IP connection parameters with a host work queue number for each of the accelerated TCP/IP connections.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein said TCP/IP connection parameters comprise:

source TCP port number, destination TCP port number, source IP address, and destination IP address.

15. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein said host work queue number corresponds to a target work queue number within a TCP-aware target adapter, said TCP-aware target adapter providing corresponding native transactions to the clients for said each of the accelerated TCP/IP connections.

17. The apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein said TCP-aware target adapter comprises:

a plurality of native network ports, each of said native network ports communicating with TCP/IP clients via a corresponding native network protocol.

18. The apparatus as recited in claim 17, wherein said corresponding native network protocol comprises one of the following protocols:

Ethernet, Wireless Ethernet, Fiber Distributed Data Interconnect (FDDI), Attached Resource Computer Network (ARCNET), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and Token Ring.

19. The apparatus as recited in claim 17, wherein said TCP-aware target adapter further comprises:

an accelerated connection processor, for supporting TCP/IP transactions with the clients by receiving/transmitting native transactions in accordance with said native network protocol.

20. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein said TCP-aware target adapter further comprises:

a connection correlator, for associating TCP/IP connection parameters for the accelerated connection with said target work queue.

21. The apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein said host driver comprises:

connection correlation logic, for associating said TCP/IP connection parameters for the accelerated connection with said host work queue.

22. The apparatus as recited in claim 21, wherein said TCP/IP connection parameters comprise:

source TCP port number, destination TCP port number, source IP address, and destination IP address.

24. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein said mapping comprises:

i) intercepting the TCP/IP connection parameters from requests to send/receive data from/to the servers; and

ii) establishing Infiniband connections between the servers and a TCP-aware target adapter.

25. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein said executing comprises:

i) providing the TCP-aware target adapter with memory locations within the servers for transmission/reception of the data;

ii) from the TCP-aware target adapter, transmitting the remote direct memory access operations to the servers; and

iii) from the servers, providing remote direct memory access responses.

26. The method as recited in claim 23, further comprising:

c) generating TCP/IP transactions in a native network protocol to provide the data to the clients.

28. The method as recited in claim 27, wherein said utilizing comprises:

i) associating TCP/IP connection parameters for a particular TCP/IP connection with a work queue within the TCP-aware target adapter; and

ii) issuing remote direct memory access requests to the work queue.

29. The method as recited in claim 28, wherein said generating comprises:

i) formulating TCP headers, IP headers, and native network headers for messages to/from the clients based upon the TCP/IP connection parameters provided by said associating.

16. An apparatus within a client-server environment for managing an accelerated TCP/IP connection between a server connected to an Infiniband fabric and a client connected to a TCP/IP network, the apparatus comprising:

a host driver, for providing a host work queue through which transaction data corresponding to the accelerated TCP/IP connection is transmitted/received via the Infiniband fabric; and

a TCP-aware target adapter, coupled to said host driver, for providing a target work queue corresponding to said host work queue, and for executing a remote direct memory access operation to receive/transmit said transaction data via the Infiniband fabric.

23. A method for accelerating TCP/IP connections in a client-server environment having clients that are connected to a TCP/IP network and servers that are connected to an Infiniband fabric, the method comprising:

a) mapping TCP/IP connection parameters for accelerated connections to corresponding host and target work queue pairs; and

b) executing Infiniband remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/transmit data associated with the accelerated connections from/to memory within the servers.

27. A method for offloading server TCP/IP processing in a client-server environment, comprising:

a) utilizing remote direct memory access operations via an Infiniband fabric to directly access data from/to server memory, wherein the data is provided to/from a TCP-aware target adapter, the TCP-aware target adapter providing native network ports that connect to clients; and

b) via the TCP-aware target adapter, generating native network transactions to transfer the data to/from clients.

30. A TCP-aware target adapter, for accelerating TCP/IP connections between a plurality of clients and a plurality of servers, the plurality of servers being accessed via an Infiniband fabric, the plurality of clients being accessed via a TCP/IP network, the TCP-aware target adapter comprising:

an accelerated connection processor, configured to bridge TCP/IP transactions between the plurality of clients and the plurality of servers, wherein said accelerated connection processor accelerates the TCP/IP connections by prescribing remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide transaction data from/to the plurality of servers; and

a target channel adapter, coupled to said accelerated connection processor, configured to support Infiniband operations with the plurality of servers, and configured to execute said remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide said transaction data, and configured to route said transaction data to/from the plurality of clients as embedded payloads within Infiniband packets.

31. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 30, wherein said accelerated connection processor supports TCP/IP transactions with the plurality of clients by formatting and processing native transactions in accordance with a native network protocol corresponding to the plurality of clients.

32. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 31, wherein said accelerated connection processor encapsulates outgoing TCP/IP transactions within Infiniband raw packets for transmission to the plurality of clients.

33. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 32, wherein each of a plurality of accelerated TCP/IP connections comprises:

a plurality of said remote direct memory access operations between a particular server and said target channel adapter to retrieve/provide particular transaction data from/to said particular server; and

corresponding native transactions between said accelerated connection processor and a particular client to provide/retrieve said particular transaction data to/from said particular client, wherein said corresponding native transactions are encapsulated within Infiniband raw packets.

34. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 33, wherein said accelerated connection processor comprises:

a connection correlator, configured to associate TCP/IP connection parameters with a target work queue number for said each of a plurality of accelerated TCP/IP connections.

35. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 34, wherein said TCP/IP connection parameters comprise:

source TCP port number, destination TCP port number, source IP address, and destination IP address.

36. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 35, wherein said target work queue number corresponds to a host work queue number within a specific server, said specific server being designated by said accelerated connection processor to support said each of a plurality of accelerated TCP/IP connections with a specific client.

37. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 33, wherein said connection correlator associates native connection parameters with a target work queue number for said each of a plurality of unaccelerated TCP/IP connections.

38. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 37, wherein said native connection parameters comprise:

source MAC address and destination MAC address.

39. The TCP-aware target adapter as recited in claim 38, wherein said target work queue number corresponds to a host work queue number within a specific server, said specific server being designated by said accelerated connection processor to support said each of a plurality of unaccelerated TCP/IP connections with a specific client.

40. An Infiniband-to-native protocol translation apparatus, for routing TCP/IP transactions between a plurality of clients and a plurality of Infiniband devices, the plurality of Infiniband devices being accessed via an Infiniband fabric, the plurality of clients being accessed via a TCP/IP network, the Infiniband-to-native protocol translation apparatus comprising:

an unaccelerated connection processor, configured to bridge the TCP/IP transactions between the plurality of clients and the plurality of Infiniband devices by encapsulating/stripping the TCP transactions within/from Infiniband raw packets, said unaccelerated connection processor comprising;

an unaccelerated connection correlator, for mapping native addresses to/from Infiniband local indentifiers and work queue numbers; and

a target channel adapter, coupled to said unaccelerated connection processor, configured to receive/transmit said Infiniband raw packets from/to the plurality of Infiniband devices.

41. The Infiniband-to-native protocol translation apparatus as recited in claim 40, wherein said native addresses comprise MAC addresses.

42. The Infiniband-to-native protocol translation apparatus as recited in claim 40, wherein said native addresses comprise IP addresses.

43. The Infiniband-to-native protocol translation apparatus as recited in claim 40, wherein said Infiniband local identifiers comprise source local identifier, destination local identifier, and work queue number.

44. The Infiniband-to-native protocol translation apparatus as recited in claim 43, wherein said Infiniband local identifiers map said TCP/IP transactions between a particular client and a server connected to an Infiniband fabric.

45. The Infiniband-to-native protocol translation apparatus as recited in claim 43, wherein said Infiniband local identifiers map said TCP/IP transactions between a particular client and a TCP-aware target adapter connected to an Infiniband fabric.