{
  "slug": "infiniband",
  "term": "InfiniBand",
  "aliases": [
    "IB"
  ],
  "definition": "InfiniBand is a standardized switched-fabric interconnect architecture for computing and storage systems that supports message exchange and remote direct memory access.",
  "note": "Architecture: InfiniBand defines an interconnect, not a storage command set. RoCE carries RDMA over Ethernet; it is not another name for an InfiniBand fabric. A shared RDMA programming model does not establish wire compatibility. [ibta] [verbs]\n\nEndpoints: A queue pair groups send and receive work queues. The selected service determines supported operations and delivery guarantees; InfiniBand includes reliable and unreliable services. NVMe/RDMA specifically requires reliable queue-pair modes. [verbs] [rdma]\n\nManagement: A subnet manager discovers the fabric, assigns local identifiers and configures routing. These network-management responsibilities are distinct from an NVMe discovery controller's storage connection information. [verbs] [rdma]\n\nStorage bindings: NVMe/RDMA can use InfiniBand, RoCE or iWARP as providers. iSER instead extends iSCSI for RDMA-capable protocols; RFC 7145 includes InfiniBand's Reliable Connected service. The fabric alone does not identify which storage protocol an endpoint supports. [rdma] [iser]\n\nSharing: Justitia (NSDI 2022) separates NIC resource contention from fabric congestion; its tested applications could interfere despite reliable transport. This is historical experimental evidence, not a current-hardware performance guarantee. [justitia]\n\nEvidence boundary: This is an architecture and specification review, not a hardware, interoperability or latency experiment. No universal performance ranking follows from the transport name.",
  "status": "shipping",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [],
  "related": [
    "rdma-storage",
    "nvme-rdma",
    "roce-v2",
    "iwarp",
    "iser",
    "nvme-discovery-controller"
  ],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "ibta",
      "title": "InfiniBand Trade Association: architecture specification and InfiniBand/RoCE distinction",
      "url": "https://infinibandta.org/ibta-specification/",
      "accessed": "2026-11-09"
    },
    {
      "id": "verbs",
      "title": "NVIDIA RDMA Aware Networks Programming User Manual, archived DOCA 3.5.0: glossary and sections 3.1-3.5",
      "url": "https://networking-docs.nvidia.com/doca/archive/3-5-0/rdma-aware-networks-programming-guide",
      "accessed": "2026-11-09"
    },
    {
      "id": "rdma",
      "title": "NVM Express NVMe over RDMA Transport 1.3, sections 1.4, 2 and 3.1",
      "url": "https://nvmexpress.org/wp-content/uploads/NVM-Express-NVMe-over-RDMA-Transport-Specification-Revision-1.3-Ratified-2026.07.31.pdf",
      "accessed": "2026-11-09"
    },
    {
      "id": "iser",
      "title": "RFC 7145: iSCSI Extensions for RDMA, section 1.2",
      "url": "https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7145.html#section-1.2",
      "accessed": "2026-11-09"
    },
    {
      "id": "justitia",
      "title": "Zhang et al., Justitia: Software Multi-Tenancy in Hardware Kernel-Bypass Networks (NSDI 2022), sections 2.2, 3.1 and 3.3",
      "url": "https://www.usenix.org/system/files/nsdi22-paper-zhang_yiwen.pdf",
      "accessed": "2026-11-09"
    }
  ],
  "updated": "2026-11-09",
  "provenance": [
    "Primary-source architecture and protocol review. The archived vendor guide supports vocabulary and management roles; its historical speeds and performance marketing are not adopted as current facts. No experiment was performed."
  ]
}