[Ofa_boardplus] XWG meeting minutes 11/29

[Hefty, Sean]

Woody wasn't referring to the verbs provider.  He was talking about using sockets over tcp.

RDMA != VERBS   !!!!!

If OFA still can't get this right, then, yes, there's no way anyone outside of the field is ever going to understand it.

OFA has already made the investment.  It's harmless, been available for years, and is free.


> You’re quite right Woody; I hadn’t thought of using libfabric with the
> verbs provider running over Ethernet.
> 
> 
> 
> Another approach is the ‘cluster on a laptop’ that I described.  That
> one uses KVM and standard enet virtual switches to create a ‘cluster
> in a box’.
> 
> 
> 
> In either case, Doug’s point was that the OFA is in a position to make
> it easier for people to get exposed to RDMA in a harmless and zero
> cost way.  I think that’s something in which the OFA should invest.
> Fastest way I can imagine to accelerate the adoption of high
> performance networks.
> 
> -Paul
> 
> 
> 
> From: Woodruff, Robert J [mailto:robert.j.woodruff at intel.com]
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2018 1:59 PM
> To: Paul Grun <grun at cray.com>; Jim Ryan <jimdryan at gmail.com>
> Cc: ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org,
> <ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org>
> Subject: RE: [Ofa_boardplus] XWG meeting minutes 11/29
> 
> 
> 
> >There’s no easy way to experiment with RDMA and learn about it,
> without buying h/w.
> 
> 
> 
> This is not exactly true. With OFI, it supports RDMA and we have a
> sockets provider that people can use with any off the shelf Ethernet
> NIC to experiment and learn about RDMA.
> 
> In fact, we have a lot of development internally that uses the OFI
> sockets provider for initial development and then later test and tune
> it on hardware accelerated RDMA NICs.
> 
> 
> 
> Woody
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From: Ofa_boardplus [mailto:ofa_boardplus-
> bounces at lists.openfabrics.org] On Behalf Of Paul Grun
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2018 1:24 PM
> To: Jim Ryan <jimdryan at gmail.com <mailto:jimdryan at gmail.com> >
> Cc: ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org
> <mailto:ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org> ,
> <ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org
> <mailto:ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org> >
> Subject: Re: [Ofa_boardplus] XWG meeting minutes 11/29
> 
> 
> 
> A tiny nit – the second to approve the minutes was Christoph.
> 
> 
> 
> Another small-ish nit - People are dismayed at how hard it is to test
> things RDMA-related especially by newbies, complicated by the need to
> buy HW.
> 
> I think it’s a little more than just testing.  There’s no easy way to
> experiment with RDMA and learn about it, without buying h/w.
> 
> 
> 
> Not-so-small nit - Gilad explained openRDMA doesn’t compete with the
> OFA. Rather it provides help for those wanting to use RDMA. They are
> not doing new development.
> 
> Rather, Gilad asserted that OpenRDMA doesn’t compete with the OFA
> because it is not doing new development. This is incorrect because the
> OFA’s mission is not limited to development.  Our mission is to
> accelerate the development and adoption of (e.g. RDMA).  No good
> argument was offered for why OpenRDMA should not be hosted by the OFA
> under the auspices of the existing OFVWG (which was originally
> requested by MLNX and is currently chaired by MLNX).
> 
> 
> 
> The OFA was originally formed specifically to foster the development,
> support, and adoption of RDMA and stands ready to continue doing so.
> Nothing about that has changed in our mission.
> 
> 
> 
> -Paul
> 
> 
> 
> From: Ofa_boardplus [mailto:ofa_boardplus-
> bounces at lists.openfabrics.org] On Behalf Of Jim Ryan
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2018 12:30 PM
> To: ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org
> <mailto:ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org> ,
> <ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org
> <mailto:ofa_boardplus at lists.openfabrics.org> >
> Subject: [Ofa_boardplus] XWG meeting minutes 11/29
> 
> 
> 
> A very complex meeting, I hope I got it right
> 
> 
> 
> Jim