InfiniBand Network Architecture

Some Preliminary Terminology

• Processor Node. See Figure 1-1 on page 11. A group of one or more processors and their associated main memory. It is interfaced to the IBA fabric via one or more HCAs (Host Channel Adapter), each of which implements one or more IBA ports.

  Figure 1-1. Host Channel Adapter

  

• Port. A bi-directional interface that connects an IBA device to an IBA link.

• Link. The bi-directional, high-speed connection between two ports on two IBA devices. At a minimum, it is implemented using one high-speed serial transmission line in each direction capable of transmitting at 2.5Gb/s, yielding 250MB/s throughput (note that each 8-bit character ...