Abstract: Systems and methods for connecting a device to one of a plurality of processing hosts. A virtual interface card (VIC) adapter learns the number and location of the hosts and an identification of the device; receives a mapping of the device to a selected host where in the host is selected from the plurality of hosts; and dynamically builds an interface that connects the device to the selected host.

Abstract: An example method for facilitating policy-driven storage in a microserver computing environment is provided and includes receiving, at an input/output (I/O) adapter in a microserver chassis having a plurality of compute nodes and a shared storage resource, policy contexts prescribing storage access parameters of respective compute nodes and enforcing the respective policy contexts on I/O operations by the compute nodes, in which respect a particular I/O operation by any compute node is not executed if the respective policy context does not allow the particular I/O operation. The method further includes allocating tokens to command descriptors associated with I/O operations for accessing the shared storage resource, identifying a violation of any policy context of any compute node based on availability of the tokens, and throttling I/O operations by other compute nodes until the violation disappears.

Abstract: An example method for adaptively coalescing remote direct memory access (RDMA) acknowledgements is provided. The method includes determining one or more input/output (I/O) characteristics of RDMA packets of a plurality of queue pairs (QPs) on a per-QP basis, each QP identifying a respective RDMA connection between a respective first compute node and a respective second compute node. The method further includes determining an acknowledgement frequency for providing acknowledgements of the RDMA packets on a per-QP basis (i.e., a respective acknowledgement frequency is set for each QP) based on the determined one or more I/O characteristics for each QP.

Abstract: A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes receiving by a network element a request from a network device connected to the network element to update a shared resource maintained by the network element; subsequent to the receipt, identifying a Base Address Register Resource Table (“BRT”) element assigned to a Peripheral Component Interconnect (“PCI”) adapter of the network element associated with the network device, wherein the BRT points to the shared resource; changing an attribute of the identified BRT from read-only to read/write to enable the identified BRT to be written by the network device; and notifying the network device that the attribute of the identified BRT has been changed, thereby enabling the network device to update the shared resource via a Base Address Register (“BAR”) comprising the identified BRT.

Abstract: An example method for facilitating low latency remote direct memory access (RDMA) for microservers is provided and includes generating queue pair (QPs) in a memory of an input/output (I/O) adapter of a microserver chassis having a plurality of compute nodes executing thereon, the QPs being associated with a remote direct memory access (RDMA) connection between a first compute node and a second compute node in the microserver chassis, setting a flag in the QPs to indicate that the RDMA connection is local to the microserver chassis, and performing a loopback of RDMA packets within the I/O adapter from one memory region in the I/O adapter associated with the first compute node of the RDMA connection to another memory region in the I/O adapter associated with the second compute node of the RDMA connection.

Abstract: An example method for transformation of Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) compliant virtual devices in a server in a network environment is provided and includes receiving, during runtime of the server, a request to change a first configuration of a PCIe compliant virtual device to a different second configuration, identifying a bridge on a PCIe topology below which the virtual device is located, issuing a simulated secondary bus reset to the bridge, the virtual device being reconfigured according to the change in configuration after the simulated secondary bus reset is issued, re-enumerating below the bridge after the change in configuration completes without rebooting the server, and updating the PCI topology with the virtual device in the second configuration. A virtual interface card adapter traps the simulated secondary bus reset, removes the virtual device from the PCI topology, and reconfigures the virtual device from the first configuration to the second configuration.

Abstract: An example method for flexible remote direct memory access resource configuration in a network environment is provided and includes determining whether sufficient remote direct memory access (RDMA) resources are available in a network environment to satisfy a request for RDMA resources, inserting the requested RDMA resources into a network profile, associating the network profile with a network interface endpoint in the network, and communicating the network profile over the network to a virtual interface card (VIC) adapter that processes RDMA packets, the VIC adapter configuring the requested RDMA resources in the VIC adapter's hardware and the requested RDMA resources being mapped to a host memory for use by the network interface endpoint. In specific embodiments, the VIC adapter allocates and identifies a region in local memory for managing the requested RDMA resources and reserved for the network interface endpoint.

Abstract: An example method for facilitating multi-level paging and address translation in a network environment is provided and includes receiving a request for memory in a physical memory of a network element, associating the request with a first virtual address space, mapping a memory region located in the physical memory to a first window in the first virtual address space, the memory region being also mapped to a second window in a different, second virtual address space, remapping the first window in the first virtual address space to the second window in the second virtual address space, and responding to the request with addresses of the second window in the second virtual address space.

Abstract: Systems and methods for connecting a device to one of a plurality of processing hosts. A virtual interface card (VIC) adapter learns the number and location of the hosts and an identification of the device; receives a mapping of the device to a selected host where in the host is selected from the plurality of hosts; and dynamically builds an interface that connects the device to the selected host.

Abstract: An example method for facilitating multi-level paging and address translation in a network environment is provided and includes receiving a request for memory in a physical memory of a network element, associating the request with a first virtual address space, mapping a memory region located in the physical memory to a first window in the first virtual address space, the memory region being also mapped to a second window in a different, second virtual address space, remapping the first window in the first virtual address space to the second window in the second virtual address space, and responding to the request with addresses of the second window in the second virtual address space.

Abstract: An example method for facilitating multi-level paging and address translation in a network environment is provided and includes receiving a request for memory in a physical memory of a network element, associating the request with a first virtual address space, mapping a memory region located in the physical memory to a first window in the first virtual address space, the memory region being also mapped to a second window in a different, second virtual address space, remapping the first window in the first virtual address space to the second window in the second virtual address space, and responding to the request with addresses of the second window in the second virtual address space.

Abstract: An example method for flexible remote direct memory access resource configuration in a network environment is provided and includes determining whether sufficient remote direct memory access (RDMA) resources are available in a network environment to satisfy a request for RDMA resources, inserting the requested RDMA resources into a network profile, associating the network profile with a network interface endpoint in the network, and communicating the network profile over the network to a virtual interface card (VIC) adapter that processes RDMA packets, the VIC adapter configuring the requested RDMA resources in the VIC adapter's hardware and the requested RDMA resources being mapped to a host memory for use by the network interface endpoint. In specific embodiments, the VIC adapter allocates and identifies a region in local memory for managing the requested RDMA resources and reserved for the network interface endpoint.