Linux kernel 2.6.15 offers 'full' InfiniBand support

The uptake of Linux clusters based on the high-speed networking standard is about to climb, according to a kernel developer

The latest version of the Linux kernel offers full support for running a Linux cluster on InfiniBand, with the addition of a driver for storage systems based on the high-speed networking standard.

Version 2.6.15 of the Linux kernel, which was released earlier this week, includes an InfiniBand (IB) SRP storage driver. The addition of this driver means that Linux systems can talk to storage over an IB network.

Roland Dreier, one of the Linux kernel maintainers handling IB support and a technical leader at hardware vendor Cisco Systems, said on Wednesday that this driver will encourage the uptake of IB-based Linux clusters.

"It's a very important feature. It means that there is now full open source support for running a Linux cluster on InfiniBand, since there are drivers for networking, ultra-high performance application clustering and now storage. This means IB can be deployed without requiring the duplication and expense of building a separate SAN," said Dreier.

The main advantages of IB storage are performance and price, according to Dreier.

"A single IB link runs at 1 GB/s, which is four times faster than 2Gb/s Fibre Channel and twice as fast as 4Gb/s FC, which is just now becoming available. So an IB storage system will outperform an FC storage system by a fairly large margin. Also, even though the performance is higher, the cost of IB networks is actually lower than an FC network," said Dreier.

IB SRP storage drivers are already available in the default installation of Solaris and as an add-on for Windows, according to Dreier.

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