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) |
An NVIDIA technology that allows NVIDIA 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 NVIDIA adapter devices |
See the Release Notes relevant to your adapter device |
|
MFT User Manual and Release Notes |
NVIDIA Firmware Tools (MFT) User Manual and Release Notes documents |
|
WinOF User Manual |
Mellanox WinOF User Manual describes the installation, configuration, and operation of NVIDIA Windows driver |
|
VMA User Manual |
NVIDIA VMA User Manual describes the installation, configuration, and operation of NVIDIA VMA driver |