Provided by: libfabric-dev_1.6.2-3ubuntu0.1_amd64 
NAME
fi_domain - Open a fabric access domain
SYNOPSIS
#include <rdma/fabric.h>
#include <rdma/fi_domain.h>
int fi_domain(struct fid_fabric *fabric, struct fi_info *info,
struct fid_domain **domain, void *context);
int fi_close(struct fid *domain);
int fi_domain_bind(struct fid_domain *domain, struct fid *eq,
uint64_t flags);
int fi_open_ops(struct fid *domain, const char *name, uint64_t flags,
void **ops, void *context);
ARGUMENTS
fabric : Fabric domain
info : Fabric information, including domain capabilities and attributes.
domain : An opened access domain.
context : User specified context associated with the domain. This context is returned as part of any
asynchronous event associated with the domain.
eq : Event queue for asynchronous operations initiated on the domain.
name : Name associated with an interface.
ops : Fabric interface operations.
DESCRIPTION
An access domain typically refers to a physical or virtual NIC or hardware port; however, a domain may
span across multiple hardware components for fail-over or data striping purposes. A domain defines the
boundary for associating different resources together. Fabric resources belonging to the same domain may
share resources.
fi_domain
Opens a fabric access domain, also referred to as a resource domain. Fabric domains are identified by a
name. The properties of the opened domain are specified using the info parameter.
fi_open_ops
fi_open_ops is used to open provider specific interfaces. Provider interfaces may be used to access
low-level resources and operations that are specific to the opened resource domain. The details of
domain interfaces are outside the scope of this documentation.
fi_domain_bind
Associates an event queue with the domain. An event queue bound to a domain will be the default EQ
associated with asynchronous control events that occur on the domain or active endpoints allocated on a
domain. This includes CM events. Endpoints may direct their control events to alternate EQs by binding
directly with the EQ.
Binding an event queue to a domain with the FI_REG_MR flag indicates that the provider should perform all
memory registration operations asynchronously, with the completion reported through the event queue. If
an event queue is not bound to the domain with the FI_REG_MR flag, then memory registration requests
complete synchronously.
See fi_av_bind(3), fi_ep_bind(3), fi_mr_bind(3), fi_pep_bind(3), and fi_scalable_ep_bind(3) for more
information.
fi_close
The fi_close call is used to release all resources associated with a domain or interface. All objects
associated with the opened domain must be released prior to calling fi_close, otherwise the call will
return -FI_EBUSY.
DOMAIN ATTRIBUTES
The fi_domain_attr structure defines the set of attributes associated with a domain.
struct fi_domain_attr {
struct fid_domain *domain;
char *name;
enum fi_threading threading;
enum fi_progress control_progress;
enum fi_progress data_progress;
enum fi_resource_mgmt resource_mgmt;
enum fi_av_type av_type;
int mr_mode;
size_t mr_key_size;
size_t cq_data_size;
size_t cq_cnt;
size_t ep_cnt;
size_t tx_ctx_cnt;
size_t rx_ctx_cnt;
size_t max_ep_tx_ctx;
size_t max_ep_rx_ctx;
size_t max_ep_stx_ctx;
size_t max_ep_srx_ctx;
size_t cntr_cnt;
size_t mr_iov_limit;
uint64_t caps;
uint64_t mode;
uint8_t *auth_key;
size_t auth_key_size;
size_t max_err_data;
size_t mr_cnt;
};
domain
On input to fi_getinfo, a user may set this to an opened domain instance to restrict output to the given
domain. On output from fi_getinfo, if no domain was specified, but the user has an opened instance of
the named domain, this will reference the first opened instance. If no instance has been opened, this
field will be NULL.
Name
The name of the access domain.
Multi-threading Support (threading)
The threading model specifies the level of serialization required of an application when using the
libfabric data transfer interfaces. Control interfaces are always considered thread safe, and may be
accessed by multiple threads. Applications which can guarantee serialization in their access of provider
allocated resources and interfaces enables a provider to eliminate lower-level locks.
FI_THREAD_UNSPEC : This value indicates that no threading model has been defined. It may be used on
input hints to the fi_getinfo call. When specified, providers will return a threading model that allows
for the greatest level of parallelism.
FI_THREAD_SAFE : A thread safe serialization model allows a multi-threaded application to access any
allocated resources through any interface without restriction. All providers are required to support
FI_THREAD_SAFE.
FI_THREAD_FID : A fabric descriptor (FID) serialization model requires applications to serialize access
to individual fabric resources associated with data transfer operations and completions. Multiple
threads must be serialized when accessing the same endpoint, transmit context, receive context,
completion queue, counter, wait set, or poll set. Serialization is required only by threads accessing
the same object.
For example, one thread may be initiating a data transfer on an endpoint, while another thread reads from
a completion queue associated with the endpoint.
Serialization to endpoint access is only required when accessing the same endpoint data flow. Multiple
threads may initiate transfers on different transmit contexts of the same endpoint without serializing,
and no serialization is required between the submission of data transmit requests and data receive
operations.
In general, FI_THREAD_FID allows the provider to be implemented without needing internal locking when
handling data transfers. Conceptually, FI_THREAD_FID maps well to providers that implement fabric
services in hardware and provide separate command queues to different data flows.
FI_THREAD_ENDPOINT : The endpoint threading model is similar to FI_THREAD_FID, but with the added
restriction that serialization is required when accessing the same endpoint, even if multiple transmit
and receive contexts are used. Conceptually, FI_THREAD_ENDPOINT maps well to providers that implement
fabric services in hardware but use a single command queue to access different data flows.
FI_THREAD_COMPLETION : The completion threading model is intended for providers that make use of manual
progress. Applications must serialize access to all objects that are associated through the use of
having a shared completion structure. This includes endpoint, transmit context, receive context,
completion queue, counter, wait set, and poll set objects.
For example, threads must serialize access to an endpoint and its bound completion queue(s) and/or
counters. Access to endpoints that share the same completion queue must also be serialized.
The use of FI_THREAD_COMPLETION can increase parallelism over FI_THREAD_SAFE, but requires the use of
isolated resources.
FI_THREAD_DOMAIN : A domain serialization model requires applications to serialize access to all objects
belonging to a domain.
Progress Models (control_progress / data_progress)
Progress is the ability of the underlying implementation to complete processing of an asynchronous
request. In many cases, the processing of an asynchronous request requires the use of the host
processor. For example, a received message may need to be matched with the correct buffer, or a timed
out request may need to be retransmitted. For performance reasons, it may be undesirable for the
provider to allocate a thread for this purpose, which will compete with the application threads.
Control progress indicates the method that the provider uses to make progress on asynchronous control
operations. Control operations are functions which do not directly involve the transfer of application
data between endpoints. They include address vector, memory registration, and connection management
routines.
Data progress indicates the method that the provider uses to make progress on data transfer operations.
This includes message queue, RMA, tagged messaging, and atomic operations, along with their completion
processing.
Progress frequently requires action being taken at both the transmitting and receiving sides of an
operation. This is often a requirement for reliable transfers, as a result of retry and acknowledgement
processing.
To balance between performance and ease of use, two progress models are defined.
FI_PROGRESS_UNSPEC : This value indicates that no progress model has been defined. It may be used on
input hints to the fi_getinfo call.
FI_PROGRESS_AUTO : This progress model indicates that the provider will make forward progress on an
asynchronous operation without further intervention by the application. When FI_PROGRESS_AUTO is
provided as output to fi_getinfo in the absence of any progress hints, it often indicates that the
desired functionality is implemented by the provider hardware or is a standard service of the operating
system.
All providers are required to support FI_PROGRESS_AUTO. However, if a provider does not natively support
automatic progress, forcing the use of FI_PROGRESS_AUTO may result in threads being allocated below the
fabric interfaces.
FI_PROGRESS_MANUAL : This progress model indicates that the provider requires the use of an application
thread to complete an asynchronous request. When manual progress is set, the provider will attempt to
advance an asynchronous operation forward when the application attempts to wait on or read an event
queue, completion queue, or counter where the completed operation will be reported. Progress also occurs
when the application processes a poll or wait set that has been associated with the event or completion
queue.
Only wait operations defined by the fabric interface will result in an operation progressing. Operating
system or external wait functions, such as select, poll, or pthread routines, cannot.
Manual progress requirements not only apply to endpoints that initiate transmit operations, but also to
endpoints that may be the target of such operations. This holds true even if the target endpoint will
not generate completion events for the operations. For example, an endpoint that acts purely as the
target of RMA or atomic operations that uses manual progress may still need application assistance to
process received operations.
Resource Management (resource_mgmt)
Resource management (RM) is provider and protocol support to protect against overrunning local and remote
resources. This includes local and remote transmit contexts, receive contexts, completion queues, and
source and target data buffers.
When enabled, applications are given some level of protection against overrunning provider queues and
local and remote data buffers. Such support may be built directly into the hardware and/or network
protocol, but may also require that checks be enabled in the provider software. By disabling resource
management, an application assumes all responsibility for preventing queue and buffer overruns, but doing
so may allow a provider to eliminate internal synchronization calls, such as atomic variables or locks.
It should be noted that even if resource management is disabled, the provider implementation and protocol
may still provide some level of protection against overruns. However, such protection is not guaranteed.
The following values for resource management are defined.
FI_RM_UNSPEC : This value indicates that no resource management model has been defined. It may be used
on input hints to the fi_getinfo call.
FI_RM_DISABLED : The provider is free to select an implementation and protocol that does not protect
against resource overruns. The application is responsible for resource protection.
FI_RM_ENABLED : Resource management is enabled for this provider domain.
The behavior of the various resource management options depends on whether the endpoint is reliable or
unreliable, as well as provider and protocol specific implementation details, as shown in the following
table. The table assumes that all peers enable or disable RM the same.
Resource DGRAM EP-no RM DGRAM EP-with RM RDM/MSG EP-no RM RDM/MSG EP-with RM
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Tx Ctx undefined error EAGAIN undefined error EAGAIN
Rx Ctx undefined error EAGAIN undefined error EAGAIN
Tx CQ undefined error EAGAIN undefined error EAGAIN
Rx CQ undefined error EAGAIN undefined error EAGAIN
Target EP dropped dropped transmit error retried
No Rx Buffer dropped dropped transmit error retried
Rx Buf Overrun truncate or drop truncate or drop truncate or error truncate or error
Unmatched RMA not applicable not applicable transmit error transmit error
RMA Overrun not applicable not applicable transmit error transmit error
The resource column indicates the resource being accessed by a data transfer operation.
Tx Ctx / Rx Ctx : Refers to the transmit/receive contexts when a data transfer operation is submitted.
When RM is enabled, attempting to submit a request will fail if the context is full. If RM is disabled,
an undefined error (provider specific) will occur. Such errors should be considered fatal to the
context, and applications must take steps to avoid queue overruns.
Tx CQ / Rx CQ : Refers to the completion queue associated with the Tx or Rx context when a local
operation completes. When RM is disabled, applications must take care to ensure that completion queues
do not get overrun. When an overrun occurs, an undefined, but fatal, error will occur affecting all
endpoints associated with the CQ. Overruns can be avoided by sizing the CQs appropriately or by
deferring the posting of a data transfer operation unless CQ space is available to store its completion.
When RM is enabled, providers may use different mechanisms to prevent CQ overruns. This includes failing
(returning -FI_EAGAIN) the posting of operations that could result in CQ overruns, or internally retrying
requests (which will be hidden from the application). See notes at the end of this section regarding CQ
resource management restrictions.
Target EP / No Rx Buffer : Target EP refers to resources associated with the endpoint that is the target
of a transmit operation. This includes the target endpoint's receive queue, posted receive buffers (no
Rx buffers), the receive side completion queue, and other related packet processing queues. The defined
behavior is that seen by the initiator of a request. For FI_EP_DGRAM endpoints, if the target EP queues
are unable to accept incoming messages, received messages will be dropped. For reliable endpoints, if RM
is disabled, the transmit operation will complete in error. If RM is enabled, the provider will
internally retry the operation.
Rx Buffer Overrun : This refers to buffers posted to receive incoming tagged or untagged messages, with
the behavior defined from the viewpoint of the sender. The behavior for handling received messages that
are larger than the buffers provided by the application is provider specific. Providers may either
truncate the message and report a successful completion, or fail the operation. For datagram endpoints,
failed sends will result in the message being dropped. For reliable endpoints, send operations may
complete successfully, yet be truncated at the receive side. This can occur when the target side buffers
received data until an application buffer is made available. The completion status may also be dependent
upon the completion model selected byt the application (e.g. FI_DELIVERY_COMPLETE versus
FI_TRANSMIT_COMPLETE).
Unmatched RMA / RMA Overrun : Unmatched RMA and RMA overruns deal with the processing of RMA and atomic
operations. Unlike send operations, RMA operations that attempt to access a memory address that is
either not registered for such operations, or attempt to access outside of the target memory region will
fail, resulting in a transmit error.
When a resource management error occurs on an endpoint, the endpoint is transitioned into a disabled
state. Any operations which have not already completed will fail and be discarded. For unconnected
endpoints, the endpoint must be re-enabled before it will accept new data transfer operations. For
connected endpoints, the connection is torn down and must be re-established.
There is one notable restriction on the protections offered by resource management. This occurs when
resource management is enabled on an endpoint that has been bound to completion queue(s) using the
FI_SELECTIVE_COMPLETION flag. Operations posted to such an endpoint may specify that a successful
completion should not generate a entry on the corresponding completion queue. (I.e. the operation
leaves the FI_COMPLETION flag unset). In such situations, the provider is not required to reserve an
entry in the completion queue to handle the case where the operation fails and does generate a CQ entry,
which would effectively require tracking the operation to completion. Applications concerned with
avoiding CQ overruns in the occurrence of errors must ensure that there is sufficient space in the CQ to
report failed operations. This can typically be achieved by sizing the CQ to at least the same size as
the endpoint queue(s) that are bound to it.
AV Type (av_type)
Specifies the type of address vectors that are usable with this domain. For additional details on AV
type, see fi_av(3). The following values may be specified.
FI_AV_UNSPEC : Any address vector format is requested and supported.
FI_AV_MAP : Only address vectors of type AV map are requested or supported.
FI_AV_TABLE : Only address vectors of type AV index are requested or supported.
Address vectors are only used by connectionless endpoints. Applications that require the use of a
specific type of address vector should set the domain attribute av_type to the necessary value when
calling fi_getinfo. The value FI_AV_UNSPEC may be used to indicate that the provider can support either
address vector format. In this case, a provider may return FI_AV_UNSPEC to indicate that either format
is supportable, or may return another AV type to indicate the optimal AV type supported by this domain.
Memory Registration Mode (mr_mode)
Defines memory registration specific mode bits used with this domain. Full details on MR mode options
are available in fi_mr(3). The following values may be specified.
FI_MR_LOCAL : The provider is optimized around having applications register memory for locally accessed
data buffers. Data buffers used in send and receive operations and as the source buffer for RMA and
atomic operations must be registered by the application for access domains opened with this capability.
FI_MR_RAW : The provider requires additional setup as part of their memory registration process. This
mode is required by providers that use a memory key that is larger than 64-bits.
FI_MR_VIRT_ADDR : Registered memory regions are referenced by peers using the virtual address of the
registered memory region, rather than a 0-based offset.
FI_MR_ALLOCATED : Indicates that memory registration occurs on allocated data buffers, and physical pages
must back all virtual addresses being registered.
FI_MR_PROV_KEY : Memory registration keys are selected and returned by the provider.
FI_MR_MMU_NOTIFY : Indicates that the application is responsible for notifying the provider when the page
tables referencing a registered memory region may have been updated.
FI_MR_RMA_EVENT : Indicates that the memory regions associated with completion counters must be
explicitly enabled after being bound to any counter.
FI_MR_ENDPOINT : Memory registration occurs at the endpoint level, rather than domain.
FI_MR_UNSPEC : Defined for compatibility -- library versions 1.4 and earlier. Setting mr_mode to 0
indicates that FI_MR_BASIC or FI_MR_SCALABLE are requested and supported.
FI_MR_BASIC : Defined for compatibility -- library versions 1.4 and earlier. Only basic memory
registration operations are requested or supported. This mode is equivalent to the FI_MR_VIRT_ADDR,
FI_MR_ALLOCATED, and FI_MR_PROV_KEY flags being set in later library versions. This flag may not be used
in conjunction with other mr_mode bits.
FI_MR_SCALABLE : Defined for compatibility -- library versions 1.4 and earlier. Only scalable memory
registration operations are requested or supported. Scalable registration uses offset based addressing,
with application selectable memory keys. For library versions 1.5 and later, this is the default if no
mr_mode bits are set. This flag may not be used in conjunction with other mr_mode bits.
Buffers used in data transfer operations may require notifying the provider of their use before a data
transfer can occur. The mr_mode field indicates the type of memory registration that is required, and
when registration is necessary. Applications that require the use of a specific registration mode should
set the domain attribute mr_mode to the necessary value when calling fi_getinfo. The value FI_MR_UNSPEC
may be used to indicate support for any registration mode.
MR Key Size (mr_key_size)
Size of the memory region remote access key, in bytes. Applications that request their own MR key must
select a value within the range specified by this value. Key sizes larger than 8 bytes require using the
FI_RAW_KEY mode bit.
CQ Data Size (cq_data_size)
Applications may include a small message with a data transfer that is placed directly into a remote
completion queue as part of a completion event. This is referred to as remote CQ data (sometimes
referred to as immediate data). This field indicates the number of bytes that the provider supports for
remote CQ data. If supported (non-zero value is returned), the minimum size of remote CQ data must be at
least 4-bytes.
Completion Queue Count (cq_cnt)
The optimal number of completion queues supported by the domain, relative to any specified or default CQ
attributes. The cq_cnt value may be a fixed value of the maximum number of CQs supported by the
underlying hardware, or may be a dynamic value, based on the default attributes of an allocated CQ, such
as the CQ size and data format.
Endpoint Count (ep_cnt)
The total number of endpoints supported by the domain, relative to any specified or default endpoint
attributes. The ep_cnt value may be a fixed value of the maximum number of endpoints supported by the
underlying hardware, or may be a dynamic value, based on the default attributes of an allocated endpoint,
such as the endpoint capabilities and size. The endpoint count is the number of addressable endpoints
supported by the provider.
Transmit Context Count (tx_ctx_cnt)
The number of outbound command queues optimally supported by the provider. For a low-level provider,
this represents the number of command queues to the hardware and/or the number of parallel transmit
engines effectively supported by the hardware and caches. Applications which allocate more transmit
contexts than this value will end up sharing underlying resources. By default, there is a single
transmit context associated with each endpoint, but in an advanced usage model, an endpoint may be
configured with multiple transmit contexts.
Receive Context Count (rx_ctx_cnt)
The number of inbound processing queues optimally supported by the provider. For a low-level provider,
this represents the number hardware queues that can be effectively utilized for processing incoming
packets. Applications which allocate more receive contexts than this value will end up sharing
underlying resources. By default, a single receive context is associated with each endpoint, but in an
advanced usage model, an endpoint may be configured with multiple receive contexts.
Maximum Endpoint Transmit Context (max_ep_tx_ctx)
The maximum number of transmit contexts that may be associated with an endpoint.
Maximum Endpoint Receive Context (max_ep_rx_ctx)
The maximum number of receive contexts that may be associated with an endpoint.
Maximum Sharing of Transmit Context (max_ep_stx_ctx)
The maximum number of endpoints that may be associated with a shared transmit context.
Maximum Sharing of Receive Context (max_ep_srx_ctx)
The maximum number of endpoints that may be associated with a shared receive context.
Counter Count (cntr_cnt)
The optimal number of completion counters supported by the domain. The cq_cnt value may be a fixed value
of the maximum number of counters supported by the underlying hardware, or may be a dynamic value, based
on the default attributes of the domain.
MR IOV Limit (mr_iov_limit)
This is the maximum number of IO vectors (scatter-gather elements) that a single memory registration
operation may reference.
Capabilities (caps)
Domain level capabilities. Domain capabilities indicate domain level features that are supported by the
provider.
FI_LOCAL_COMM : At a conceptual level, this field indicates that the underlying device supports loopback
communication. More specifically, this field indicates that an endpoint may communicate with other
endpoints that are allocated from the same underlying named domain. If this field is not set, an
application may need to use an alternate domain or mechanism (e.g. shared memory) to communicate with
peers that execute on the same node.
FI_REMOTE_COMM : This field indicates that the underlying provider supports communication with nodes that
are reachable over the network. If this field is not set, then the provider only supports communication
between processes that execute on the same node -- a shared memory provider, for example.
FI_SHARED_AV : Indicates that the domain supports the ability to share address vectors among multiple
processes using the named address vector feature.
See fi_getinfo(3) for a discussion on primary versus secondary capabilities. All domain capabilities are
considered secondary capabilities.
mode
The operational mode bit related to using the domain.
FI_RESTRICTED_COMP : This bit indicates that the domain limits completion queues and counters to only be
used with endpoints, transmit contexts, and receive contexts that have the same set of capability flags.
Default authorization key (auth_key)
The default authorization key to associate with endpoint and memory registrations created within the
domain. This field is ignored unless the fabric is opened with API version 1.5 or greater.
Default authorization key length (auth_key_size)
The length in bytes of the default authorization key for the domain. If set to 0, then no authorization
key will be associated with endpoints and memory registrations created within the domain unless specified
in the endpoint or memory registration attributes. This field is ignored unless the fabric is opened
with API version 1.5 or greater.
Max Error Data Size (max_err_data)
: The maximum amount of error data, in bytes, that may be returned as part of a completion or event queue
error. This value corresponds to the err_data_size field in struct fi_cq_err_entry and struct
fi_eq_err_entry.
Memory Regions Count (mr_cnt)
The optimal number of memory regions supported by the domain, or endpoint if the mr_mode FI_MR_ENDPOINT
bit has been set. The mr_cnt value may be a fixed value of the maximum number of MRs supported by the
underlying hardware, or may be a dynamic value, based on the default attributes of the domain, such as
the supported memory registration modes. Applications can set the mr_cnt on input to fi_getinfo, in
order to indicate their memory registration requirements. Doing so may allow the provider to optimize
any memory registration cache or lookup tables.
RETURN VALUE
Returns 0 on success. On error, a negative value corresponding to fabric errno is returned. Fabric
errno values are defined in rdma/fi_errno.h.
NOTES
Users should call fi_close to release all resources allocated to the fabric domain.
The following fabric resources are associated with domains: active endpoints, memory regions, completion
event queues, and address vectors.
Domain attributes reflect the limitations and capabilities of the underlying hardware and/or software
provider. They do not reflect system limitations, such as the number of physical pages that an
application may pin or number of file descriptors that the application may open. As a result, the
reported maximums may not be achievable, even on a lightly loaded systems, without an administrator
configuring system resources appropriately for the installed provider(s).
SEE ALSO
fi_getinfo(3), fi_endpoint(3), fi_av(3), fi_ep(3), fi_eq(3), fi_mr(3)
AUTHORS
OpenFabrics.
Libfabric Programmer's Manual 2018-02-13 fi_domain(3)