[openib-general] Re: IBDM and IBMgtSim Proposal Comments

[Fab Tillier]

> From: Michael S. Tsirkin [mailto:mst at mellanox.co.il]
> Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 12:47 AM
> 
> Performance is not the only reason to have a clean architecture.
> Why cant the windows driver match the openib API?

OSMV is not the Windows API.  The Windows stack has a clean architecture, is
already implemented, and works.  Why rewrite?

Also, the Linux API is not *the* openib API.  It's specific to Linux.

If there are issues with the architecture of the Windows drivers, let's hear
them and fix them.  Otherwise, just changing the API to match doesn't make
sense, especially given how different the driver models are between the two
operating systems.

Remember that code sharing is not a goal.  One reason for this is that the Linux
kernel code will never incorporate features that make sense in Windows but not
Linux for the sake of similarity in APIs.  The Linux stack is designed to fit
into Linux properly and not to be a piece of portable code.  The Windows stack
will do the same, but for Windows.

There's nothing that prevents the Windows or Linux APIs from evolving to more
closely match one another.  In fact, I plan on changing the CQ poll semantics to
match the Linux model more closely.

- Fab