NAME

fi_export_fid / fi_import_fid: Share a fabric object between different providers or resources
struct fid_peer_cq: A completion queue that may be shared between independent providers

SYNOPSIS

#include <rdma/fabric.h>
#include <rdma/fi_ext.h>

int fi_export_fid(struct fid *fid, uint64_t flags,
    struct fid **expfid, void *context);

int fi_import_fid(struct fid *fid, struct fid *expfid, uint64_t flags);

struct fid_peer_cq {
    struct fid fid;
    struct fi_ops_cq_write *export_ops;
    struct fi_ops_cq_progress *import_ops;
};

ARGUMENTS

fid: Returned fabric identifier for opened object.
expfid: Exported fabric object that may be shared with another provider.
flags: Control flags for the operation.
*context:: User defined context that will be associated with a fabric object.

DESCRIPTION

Functions defined in this man page are typically used by providers to communicate with other providers, known as peer providers, or by other libraries to communicate with the libfabric core, known as peer libraries. Most middleware and applications should not need to access this functionality, as the documentation mainly targets provider developers.

Peer providers are a way for independently developed providers to be used together in a tight fashion, such that layering overhead and duplicate provider functionality can be avoided. Peer providers are linked by having one provider export specific functionality to another. This is done by having one provider export a sharable fabric object (fid), which is imported by one or more peer providers.

As an example, a provider which uses TCP to communicate with remote peers may wish to use the shared memory provider to communicate with local peers. To remove layering overhead, the TCP based provider may export its completion queue and shared receive context and import those into the shared memory provider.

The general mechanisms used to share fabric objects between peer providers are similar, independent from the object being shared. However, because the goal of using peer providers is to avoid overhead, providers must be explicitly written to support the peer provider mechanisms.

PEER CQ

The peer CQ defines a mechanism by which a peer provider may insert completions into the CQ owned by another provider. This avoids the overhead of the libfabric user from needing to access multiple CQs.

To setup a peer CQ, a provider creates a fid_peer_cq object, which links back to the provider’s actual fid_cq. The fid_peer_cq object is then imported by a peer provider. The fid_peer_cq defines callbacks that the providers use to communicate with each other. The provider that allocates the fid_peer_cq is known as the owner, with the other provider referred to as the peer. An owner may setup peer relationships with multiple providers.

Peer CQs are configured by the owner calling the peer’s fi_cq_open() call. The owner passes in the FI_PEER_CQ flag to fi_cq_open(). When FI_PEER_CQ is specified, the context parameter passed into fi_cq_open() must reference a struct fi_peer_cq_context. Providers that do not support peer CQs must fail the fi_cq_open() call with -FI_EINVAL (indicating an invalid flag). The fid_peer_cq referenced by struct fi_peer_cq_context must remain valid until the peer’s CQ is closed.

The data structures to support peer CQs are defined as follows:

struct fi_ops_cq_owner {
    size_t  size;
    ssize_t (*write)(struct fid_peer_cq *cq, void *context, uint64_t flags,
        size_t len, void *buf, uint64_t data, uint64_t tag, fi_addr_t src);
    ssize_t (*writeerr)(struct fid_peer_cq *cq,
        const struct fi_cq_err_entry *err_entry);
};

struct fid_peer_cq {
    struct fid fid;
    struct fi_ops_cq_owner *owner_ops;
};

struct fi_peer_cq_context {
    size_t size;
    struct fid_peer_cq *cq;
};

For struct fid_peer_cq, the owner initializes the fid and owner_ops fields. struct fi_ops_cq_owner is used by the peer to communicate with the owning provider.

If manual progress is needed on the peer CQ, the owner should drive progress by using the fi_cq_read() function with the buf parameter set to NULL and count equal 0. The peer provider should set other functions that attempt to read the peer’s CQ (i.e. fi_cq_readerr, fi_cq_sread, etc.) to return -FI_ENOSYS.

fi_ops_cq_owner::write()

This call directs the owner to insert new completions into the CQ. The fi_cq_attr::format field, along with other related attributes, determines which input parameters are valid. Parameters that are not reported as part of a completion are ignored by the owner, and should be set to 0, NULL, or other appropriate value by the user. For example, if source addressing is not returned with a completion, then the src parameter should be set to FI_ADDR_NOTAVAIL and ignored on input.

The owner is responsible for locking, event signaling, and handling CQ overflow. Data passed through the write callback is relative to the user. For example, the fi_addr_t is relative to the peer’s AV. The owner is responsible for converting the address if source addressing is needed.

(TBD: should CQ overflow push back to the user for flow control? Do we need backoff / resume callbacks in ops_cq_user?)

fi_ops_cq_owner::writeerr()

The behavior of this call is similar to the write() ops. It inserts a completion indicating that a data transfer has failed into the CQ.

EXAMPLE PEER CQ SETUP

The above description defines the generic mechanism for sharing CQs between providers. This section outlines one possible implementation to demonstrate the use of the APIs. In the example, provider A uses provider B as a peer for data transfers targeting endpoints on the local node.

1. Provider A is configured to use provider B as a peer.  This may be coded
   into provider A or set through an environment variable.
2. The application calls:
   fi_cq_open(domain_a, attr, &cq_a, app_context)
3. Provider A allocates cq_a and automatically configures it to be used
   as a peer cq.
4. Provider A takes these steps:
   allocate peer_cq and reference cq_a
   set peer_cq_context->cq = peer_cq
   set attr_b.flags |= FI_PEER_CQ
   fi_cq_open(domain_b, attr_b, &cq_b, peer_cq_context)
5. Provider B allocates a cq, but configures it such that all completions
   are written to the peer_cq.  The cq ops to read from the cq are
   set to enosys calls.
8. Provider B inserts its own callbacks into the peer_cq object.  It
   creates a reference between the peer_cq object and its own cq.

PEER SRX

The peer SRX defines a mechanism by which peer providers may share a common shared receive context. This avoids the overhead of having separate receive queues, can eliminate memory copies, and ensures correct application level message ordering.

The setup of a peer SRX is similar to the setup for a peer CQ outlined above. A fid_peer_srx object links the owner of the SRX with the peer provider. Peer SRXs are configured by the owner calling the peer’s fi_srx_context() call with the FI_PEER_SRX flag set. The context parameter passed to fi_srx_context() must be a struct fi_peer_srx_context.

The owner provider initializes all elements of the fid_peer_srx and referenced structures (fi_ops_srx_owner and fi_ops_srx_peer), with the exception of the fi_ops_srx_peer callback functions. Those must be initialized by the peer provider prior to returning from the fi_srx_contex() call and are used by the owner to control peer actions.

The data structures to support peer SRXs are defined as follows:

struct fid_peer_srx;

/* Castable to dlist_entry */
struct fi_peer_rx_entry {
    struct fi_peer_rx_entry *next;
    struct fi_peer_rx_entry *prev;
    struct fi_peer_srx *srx;
    fi_addr_t addr;
    size_t size;
    uint64_t tag;
    uint64_t flags;
    void *context;
    size_t count;
    void **desc;
    void *peer_context;
    void *user_context;
    struct iovec *iov;
};

struct fi_ops_srx_owner {
    size_t size;
    int (*get_msg)(struct fid_peer_srx *srx, fi_addr_t addr,
                   size_t size, struct fi_peer_rx_entry **entry);
    int (*get_tag)(struct fid_peer_srx *srx, fi_addr_t addr,
                   uint64_t tag, struct fi_peer_rx_entry **entry);
    int (*queue_msg)(struct fi_peer_rx_entry *entry);
    int (*queue_tag)(struct fi_peer_rx_entry *entry);
    void (*free_entry)(struct fi_peer_rx_entry *entry);
};

struct fi_ops_srx_peer {
    size_t size;
    int (*start_msg)(struct fid_peer_srx *srx);
    int (*start_tag)(struct fid_peer_srx *srx);
    int (*discard_msg)(struct fid_peer_srx *srx);
    int (*discard_tag)(struct fid_peer_srx *srx);
};

struct fid_peer_srx {
    struct fid_ep ep_fid;
    struct fi_ops_srx_owner *owner_ops;
    struct fi_ops_srx_peer *peer_ops;
};

struct fi_peer_srx_context {
    size_t size;
    struct fid_peer_srx *srx;
};

The ownership of structure field values and callback functions is similar to those defined for peer CQs, relative to owner versus peer ops.

fi_ops_srx_owner::get_msg_entry() / get_tag_entry()

These calls are invoked by the peer provider to obtain the receive buffer(s) where an incoming message should be placed. The peer provider will pass in the relevent fields to request a matching rx_entry from the owner. If source addressing is required, the addr will be passed in; otherwise, the address will be set to FI_ADDR_NOT_AVAIL. The size field indicates the received message size. This field is used by the owner when handling multi-received data buffers, but may be ignored otherwise. The peer provider is responsible for checking that an incoming message fits within the provided buffer space. The tag parameter is used for tagged messages. An fi_peer_rx_entry is allocated by the owner, whether or not a match was found. If a match was found, the owner will return FI_SUCCESS and the rx_entry will be filled in with the appropriate receive fields for the peer to process accordingly. If no match was found, the owner will return -FI_ENOENT; the rx_entry will still be valid but will not match to an existing posted receive. When the peer gets FI_ENOENT, it should allocate whatever resources it needs to process the message later (on start_msg/tag) and set the rx_entry->user_context appropriately, followed by a call to the owner’s queue_msg/tag. The get and queue messages should be serialized. When the owner gets a matching receive for the queued unexpected message, it will call the peer’s start function to notify the peer of the updated rx_entry (or the peer’s discard function if the message is to be discarded) (TBD: The peer may need to update the src addr if the remote endpoint is inserted into the AV after the message has been received.)

fi_ops_srx_peer::start_msg() / start_tag()

These calls indicate that an asynchronous get_msg_entry() or get_tag_entry() has completed and a buffer is now available to receive the message. Control of the fi_peer_rx_entry is returned to the peer provider and has been initialized for receiving the incoming message.

fi_ops_srx_peer::discard_msg() / discard_tag()

Indicates that the message and data associated with the specified fi_peer_rx_entry should be discarded. This often indicates that the application has canceled or discarded the receive operation. No completion should be generated by the peer provider for a discarded message. Control of the fi_peer_rx_entry is returned to the peer provider.

EXAMPLE PEER SRX SETUP

The above description defines the generic mechanism for sharing SRXs between providers. This section outlines one possible implementation to demonstrate the use of the APIs. In the example, provider A uses provider B as a peer for data transfers targeting endpoints on the local node.

1. Provider A is configured to use provider B as a peer.  This may be coded
   into provider A or set through an environment variable.
2. The application calls:
   fi_srx_context(domain_a, attr, &srx_a, app_context)
3. Provider A allocates srx_a and automatically configures it to be used
   as a peer srx.
4. Provider A takes these steps:
   allocate peer_srx and reference srx_a
   set peer_srx_context->srx = peer_srx
   set attr_b.flags |= FI_PEER_SRX
   fi_srx_context(domain_b, attr_b, &srx_b, peer_srx_context)
5. Provider B allocates an srx, but configures it such that all receive
   buffers are obtained from the peer_srx.  The srx ops to post receives are
   set to enosys calls.
8. Provider B inserts its own callbacks into the peer_srx object.  It
   creates a reference between the peer_srx object and its own srx.

EXAMPLE PEER SRX RECEIVE FLOW

The following outlines shows simplified, example software flows for receive message handling using a peer SRX. The first flow demonstrates the case where a receive buffer is waiting when the message arrives.

Application calls fi_recv() / fi_trecv() on owner.
Owner queues the receive buffer.
A message is received by the peer provider.
The peer calls owner->get_msg() / get_tag().
The owner removes the queued receive buffer and returns it to
   the peer.  The get entry call will complete with FI_SUCCESS.

The second case below shows the flow when a message arrives before the application has posted the matching receive buffer.

1. A message is received by the peer provider.
2. The peer calls owner->get_msg() / get_tag().
3. The owner fails to find a matching receive buffer.
4. The owner allocates a rx_entry with any known fields and returns -FI_ENOENT.
5. The peer allocates any resources needed to handle the asynchronous processing
   and sets peer_context accordingly.
6. The peer calls the peer's queue function and the owner queues the peer request
   on an unexpected/pending list.
5. The application calls fi_recv() / fi_trecv() on owner, posting the
   matching receive buffer.
6. The owner matches the receive with the queued message on the peer.
7. The owner removes the queued request, fills in the rest of the known fields
   and calls the peer->start_msg() / start_tag() function.

fi_export_fid / fi_import_fid

The fi_export_fid function is reserved for future use.

The fi_import_fid call may be used to import a fabric object created and owned by the libfabric user. This allows upper level libraries or the application to override or define low-level libfabric behavior. Details on specific uses of fi_import_fid are outside the scope of this documentation.

RETURN VALUE

Returns FI_SUCCESS on success. On error, a negative value corresponding to fabric errno is returned. Fabric errno values are defined in rdma/fi_errno.h.

fi_peer(3) Libfabric Programmer's Manual