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A Cisco UCS network adapter can be installed to provide options for I/O consolidation and virtualization support. This guide contains configuration details on RDMA over Converged Ethernet version 2 (RoCEv2) and Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV).
RDMA over Converged Ethernet version 2 (RoCEv2) is an internet layer protocol, which means that RoCEv2 packets can be routed. RoCEv2 allows direct memory access over the network by encapsulating an Infiniband (IB) transport packet over Ethernet.
The RoCEv2 protocol exists on top of either the UDP/IPv4 or the UDP/IPv6 protocol. The UDP destination port number 4791 has been reserved for RoCEv2. Since RoCEv2 packets are routable, the RoCEv2 protocol is sometimes called Routable RoCE.
RoCEv2 is supported on the Windows, Linux, and ESXi Operating Systems.
Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) allows multiple VMs running a variety of guest operating systems to share a single PCIe network adapter within a host server. SR-IOV allows a VM to move data directly to and from the network adapter, bypassing the hypervisor for increased network throughput and lower server CPU burden. Recent x86 server processors include chipset enhancements, such as Intel VT-x technology, that facilitate direct memory transfers and other operations required by SR-IOV.
The SR-IOV specification defines two device types:
Physical Function (PF)—Essentially a static vNIC, a PF is a full PCIe device that includes SR-IOV capabilities. PFs are discovered, managed, and configured as normal PCIe devices. A single PF can provide management and configuration for a set of virtual functions (VFs).
Virtual Function (VF)—A VF is a full or lightweight virtual PCIe device that provides at least the necessary resources for data movements. A VF is not managed directly but is derived from and managed through a PF. One or more VFs can be assigned to a VM.
SR-IOV is defined and maintained by the Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG), an industry organization that is chartered to develop and manage the PCI standard.
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