Optimizing and Accelerating Networks with 100G Ethernet Cards

Fancy Wang

100G Ethernet card is a high-speed network interface controller that can be installed on a computer or server to communicate with other devices through the network. 100G Ethernet cards can provide network performance with high throughput, low latency, and zero packet loss, meeting the needs of new services such as 5G, edge computing, and cloud computing.

In order to achieve these goals, 100G Ethernet cards need performance optimization and hardware acceleration, and use different types of computing units and technical solutions to make up for the mismatch between computing and bandwidth, and improve resource utilization and cost performance.

Performance optimization

Performance optimization refers to improving the network forwarding efficiency and stability by adjusting the parameters and settings of the network adapter to adapt to different application scenarios and requirements.

There are several ways to optimize performance:

? Adjust the interrupt processing mode, and select the appropriate interrupt mode according to different loads and traffic types, such as polling mode, interrupt consolidation mode, interrupt buffer mode, etc. .

? Adjust the receiving side scaling (RSS) and sending side scaling (SSS) functions, and use the parallel processing capability of multi-core CPUs to distribute network traffic to different processor cores to improve throughput and load balancing.

? Adjust the virtual machine queue (VMQ) function to allocate the network traffic of the virtual machine to different physical queues, reduce CPU overhead and memory copy, and improve network performance in a virtualized environment .

? Adjust transmission control protocol (TCP) parameters, select appropriate TCP congestion control algorithm, window size, retransmission strategy, etc. according to different network conditions and application characteristics, and improve the reliability and efficiency of TCP connections .

? Adjust the maximum transmission unit (MTU) size, select the appropriate MTU size according to different network layer protocols and link layer technologies, reduce the overhead of fragmentation and reassembly, and improve the transmission efficiency of data packets .

? Adjust the network quality of service (QoS) strategy, and set appropriate flow control, bandwidth management, delay guarantee and other mechanisms according to different business types and priorities to ensure the service quality of key businesses .

Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration refers to the use of dedicated hardware devices or chips to offload some network processing tasks, thereby reducing CPU load and memory consumption, and improving network performance and scalability. There are several methods of hardware acceleration:

? Use SmartNIC, such as Mellanox ConnectX series network card , using its built-in FPGA or ASIC chips are used to realize the hardwareization of some network functions, such as OVS offloading, RDMA offloading, encryption and decryption offloading, etc. .

? Use graphics processors or tensor processors such as GPUs or TPUs to realize the hardwareization of some computing-intensive or parallel computing network functions or applications, such as AI reasoning, video codec, image processing, etc. .

? Use PCIe 4.0 or higher bus interface to connect the network card and motherboard, and use its higher transmission rate and bandwidth to achieve higher network performance. For example, the PCIe 4.0 x16 interface can provide a bandwidth of 31.5GB/s, that is, a rate of 241Gb/s .

? Use optical fiber technologies such as multi-fiber channel or wavelength division multiplexing to achieve higher network bandwidth and transmission distance. For example, the QSFP28 optical module using MPO/MTP interface can achieve a rate of 100Gb/s and a distance of 100m .

? Use signal processing techniques such as high-order coded modulation or polarization multiplexing to achieve higher signal efficiency and anti-interference capabilities, such as QPSK, QAM, OFDM and other technologies to achieve higher data rates and longer transmission distances .

Common problem

Regarding the performance optimization and hardware acceleration of 100G Ethernet cards, you may have the following common questions:

? Q: How to view and modify the parameters and settings of the network adapter?

? A: You can use some tools or commands provided by Windows or Linux systems to view and modify network adapter parameters and settings, such as Device Manager, PowerShell, netsh, ethtool, ip, etc. .

? Q: How to choose a suitable hardware acceleration device or chip?

? A: Appropriate hardware acceleration devices or chips can be selected according to different application scenarios and requirements, such as considering network forwarding performance, computing performance, power consumption, cost, compatibility and other factors .

? Q: How to test and evaluate the performance optimization and hardware acceleration effect of the network adapter?

? A: You can use some professional testing tools or commands to test and evaluate the performance optimization and hardware acceleration effects of network adapters, such as iperf, ib_write_bw, netperf, etc. .

? Q: How to ensure the security and stability of the network adapter?

? A: Some measures can be taken to ensure the safety and stability of the network adapter, such as using drivers and firmware provided by regular manufacturers, updating patches and versions in a timely manner, avoiding overheating or overloading, and using appropriate power supply and cooling equipment, etc. .

? Q: How to solve the compatibility problem between network adapters of different manufacturers or models?

? A: Some methods can be used to solve the compatibility problem between network adapters of different manufacturers or models, such as using standardized or generalized interface types, protocol types, driver types, etc., or using some adapters or converters, etc.