The OpenFabrics Alliance (OFA) recently held an interoperability debug test event, October 22-26 at UNH-IOL in Durham, New Hampshire. The debug test event is the first of two test events required for OFA members to become part of the OFA’s Interoperability Logo Program (OFILP) and to obtain the coveted OFA logo for products tested by the UNH-IOL. The next test event, Interop GA, will take place in late November 2012. The OFA plans to announce the next logo list in early 2013.

Eleven vendors participated in the recent event including: Canonical, CentOS, Chelsio, DataDirect Networks, Emulex, Intel, NetApp, Mellanox, Red Hat, Scientific Linux, and SUSE. Products tested included:

• Linux operating systems from Canonical-Ubuntu, CentOS, Red Hat, Scientific Linux, and SUSE
• Storage targets from DataDirect Networks and NetApp
• InfiniBand host channel adapters and switches from Intel and Mellanox
• iWARP adapters from Chelsio and Intel
• RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) adapters from Emulex

The debug test event, designed to build cooperation with the InfiniBand^®, iWARP and RoCE Ethernet communities, focused on industry-wide interoperability using the OFA software–a standards-based high bandwidth, low-latency networking stack for Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA).

The OFA Interoperability Working Group (OFA IWG) recently enhanced its interoperability test plan to include RoCE products in the logo program. Additionally, the OFA has a new process for distributing OpenFabrics Software (OFS) by confirming that all new software and updates are pushed upstream into the kernel. The OFA and all distributors pull from the same kernel source when creating software packages, ensuring that OFED and kernel.org are in sync before the software is released. This most recent Interop Debug test event was the first time that the new OFS build (OFED 3.5) was tested.

“We are pleased to complete yet another test event for OFA members as it delivers significant benefits to both end-users and vendors that bring those interoperable products to market,” said Jim Ryan, chairman, OFA. “Our logo program not only allows end-users to have the choice to deploy multi-vendor products, but also offers seamless interoperability which facilitates easier adoption of RDMA and low-latency I/O technologies by IT managers.”

About the OFILP

Launched in 2007, the OFA’s Interoperability Working Group (IWG) created the OFILP and the Interop Test Plan and works in collaboration with UNH-IOL to execute the tests. The OFA IWG grants an “OFA Interoperability” logo to products which have participated in and passed two required test events - Interop Debug Event and Interop GA Event.

The OFA Cluster at UNH-IOL is available to all OFLIG members. Access to the cluster can be scheduled for one week at a time either in person or remotely through VPN. The cluster includes one of the largest and most diversified collections of RDMA products including: Chelsio and Intel iWARP RNICs, Emulex RoCE adapters, Intel DDR and QDR InfiniBand HCAs and switches, Mellanox DDR, QDR and FDR InfiniBand HCAs and switches, DataDirect Networks DDR, QDR and FDR InfiniBand Storage Targets and NetApp DDR and QDR InfiniBand storage targets. The cluster uses a head node which stores all of the latest Linux and Windows operating systems along with all of the OFED binaries so that all servers can be reconfigured within 30 minutes with the OS and OFED version that vendors choose to test. The OFA IWG test plan includes specific tests which target InfiniBand, iWARP and RoCE, and it also includes transport independent tests which work on all devices regardless of the transport.

The test plan and the logo list can be accessed at the following sites:

• Test Plan: https://www.iol.unh.edu/services/testing/ofa/testsuites/OFA-IWG_Interoperability_Test_Plan-v1.45.pdf
• Logo List: https://www.iol.unh.edu/services/testing/ofa/interoplist/2012-05/

For more information on the OFILP or if you are interested in becoming an OFA member, please contact OFA Administration at membership@openfabrics.org or visit the OFA Web site.

About the OpenFabrics Alliance

The OpenFabrics Alliance (OFA) is a 501(c) (6) non-profit company that develops, tests, licenses and distributes the OpenFabrics Software (OFS) – multi-platform, high-performance, low-latency and energy-efficient open-source RDMA software. OpenFabrics Software is used in business, operational, research and scientific infrastructures that require fast fabrics/networks, efficient storage and low-latency computing. OFS is free and is included in major Linux distributions, as well as Microsoft Windows Server 2012. In addition to developing and supporting this RDMA software, the Alliance delivers training, workshops and interoperability testing to ensure all releases meet multivendor enterprise requirements for security, reliability and efficiency. For more information about the OFA, visit www.openfabrics.org.