User GuideNIXL Backends

GUSLI

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Overview

The GUSLI backend provides block-level I/O for transfers between block storage devices and DRAM, bypassing filesystem overhead for high-throughput workloads.

PropertyValue
Transfer TypeDRAM ↔ Block
ProtocolBlock I/O
Best ForRaw block device access for high-throughput storage

Installation

The GUSLI backend requires the GUSLI client library and headers to be installed before building NIXL.

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/nvidia/gusli.git
cd gusli
make all BUILD_RELEASE=1 BUILD_FOR_UNITEST=0 VERBOSE=1 ALLOW_USE_URING=1

Ensure that libgusli_clnt.so is installed under /usr/lib/ and GUSLI headers are installed under /usr/include/gusli_*.hpp.

GUSLI must be built before NIXL. The NIXL build system detects the GUSLI library at configure time.

Configuration

The GUSLI backend has no backend-specific environment variables or build options.

When to Use

  • Direct block I/O — Raw block device access without filesystem overhead.
  • High-throughput storage — Workloads requiring maximum throughput through block-level access.