Common Abbreviations and Related Documents

Common Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviation/Acronym

Description

B

(Capital) ‘B’ is used to indicate size in bytes or multiples of bytes (e.g., 1KB = 1024 bytes, and 1MB = 1048576 bytes)

b

(Small) ‘b’ is used to indicate size in bits or multiples of bits (e.g., 1Kb = 1024 bits)

FW

Firmware

HCA

Host Channel Adapter

HW

Hardware

IB

InfiniBand

iSER

iSCSI RDMA Protocol

LSB

Least significant byte

lsb

Least significant bit

MSB

Most significant byte

msb

Most significant bit

NIC

Network Interface Card

SW

Software

VPI

Virtual Protocol Interconnect

IPoIB

IP over InfiniBand

PFC

Priority Flow Control

PR

Path Record

RoCE

RDMA over Converged Ethernet

SL

Service Level

SRP

SCSI RDMA Protocol

MPI

Message Passing Interface

QoS

Quality of Service

ULP

Upper Layer Protocol

VL

Virtual Lane

vHBA

Virtual SCSI Host Bus Adapter

uDAPL

User Direct Access Programming Library


Glossary

The following is a list of concepts and terms related to InfiniBand in general and to Subnet Managers in particular. It is included here for ease of reference, but the main reference remains the InfiniBand Architecture Specification.

Term

Description

Channel Adapter (CA), Host Channel Adapter (HCA)

An IB device that terminates an IB link and executes transport functions. This may be an HCA (Host CA) or a TCA (Target CA)

HCA Card

A network adapter card based on an InfiniBand channel adapter device

IB Devices

An integrated circuit implementing InfiniBand compliant communication

IB Cluster/Fabric/ Subnet

A set of IB devices connected by IB cables

In-Band

A term assigned to administration activities traversing the IB connectivity only

Local Identifier (ID)

An address assigned to a port (data sink or source point) by the Subnet Manager, unique within the subnet, used for directing packets within the subnet

Local Device/Node/ System

The IB Host Channel Adapter (HCA) Card installed on the machine running IBDIAG tools

Local Port

The IB port of the HCA through which IBDIAG tools connect to the IB fabric

Master Subnet Manager

The Subnet Manager that is authoritative, that has the reference configuration information for the subnet

Multicast Forwarding Tables

A table that exists in every switch providing the list of ports to forward received multicast packet. The table is organized by MLID

Network Interface Card (NIC)

A network adapter card that plugs into the PCI Express slot and provides one or more ports to an Ethernet network

Standby Subnet Manager

A Subnet Manager that is currently quiescent, and not in the role of a Master Subnet Manager, by the agency of the master SM

Subnet Administrator (SA)

An application (normally part of the Subnet Manager) that implements the interface for querying and manipulating subnet management data

Subnet Manager (SM)

One of several entities involved in the configuration and control of the IB fabric

Unicast Linear Forwarding Tables (LFT)

A table that exists in every switch providing the port through which packets should be sent to each LID

Virtual Protocol Interconnect (VPI)

A Mellanox Technologies technology that allows Mellanox channel adapter devices (ConnectX®) to simultaneously connect to an InfiniBand subnet and a 10GigE subnet (each subnet connects to one of the adapter ports)


Related Documentation

Document Name

Description

InfiniBand Architecture Specification, Vol. 1, Release 1.2.1

The InfiniBand Architecture Specification that is provided by IBTA

IEEE Std 802.3ae™-2002

(Amendment to IEEE Std 802.3-2002) Document # PDF: SS94996

Part 3: Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) Access Method and Physical Layer Specifications

Amendment: Media Access Control (MAC) Parameters, Physical Layers, and Management Parameters for 10 Gb/s Operation

Firmware Release Notes for Mellanox adapter devices

See the Release Notes PDF file relevant to your adapter device on mellanox.com

MFT User Manual and Release Notes

Mellanox Firmware Tools (MFT) User Manual and Release Notes documents

WinOF User Manual

Mellanox WinOF User Manual describes the installation, configuration, and operation of Mellanox Windows driver

VMA User Manual

Mellanox VMA User Manual describes the installation, configuration, and operation of Mellanox VMA driver

© Copyright 2023, NVIDIA. Last updated on May 23, 2023.