This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I research project addresses the challenges of networks with extreme bandwidth delay products such as a 40Gbps network link between a US research facility and a similar research facility in Switzerland. Bulk data transfers in the networks need to be provided the endpoint resources required to ensure high performance in a cost effective manner. This research project accommodates such high performance networks, as data rates scale from 10 Gbps to 40 Gbps, and also provide compatibility with present and future versions of GridFTP. Additionally, the research addresses the challenges through the use of a novel offload engine with a splintered implementation of TCP based on the latest publications. In contrast to full offload approaches, splintered TCP uses partial offload and true zero-copy transfers to control the resources needed on the NPU. During this project, the offload engine architecture will be investigated using low-cost, high-performance FPGA subsystems that will be derived and simulated. Using an NPU development kit, the splinter performance will be tested to determine which offloads are optimal.
Successful results from this research project will significantly advance the state of the art for offload engines used in grid computing. Immediate applications include accommodating the e-science community's need for scalable offload engines for grid computing, that is required to accommodate systems with multiple channel 10 Gbps links through 40 Gbps, while supporting present and future versions of GridFTP. Other applications include the use of our ultra high-speed Splintered TCP offload engines for Grid and cluster computing, utilizing our open source firmware. Additional product applications include the TeraGrid, Grid Cluster WANs, and blade servers.
