Open Stack

Hi all,

We saw some interest to add iSER (iSCSI over RDMA) support to Cinder. (e.g. http://www.mail-archive.com/openstack@lists.launchpad.net/msg19342.html)

iSER can allow 5x faster bandwidth compared to using iSCSI/TCP.
For example, over RAM device LUN we got  ~1.3GBps Vs. ~5.5GBps (TCP Vs. iSER), and much lower CPU overhead.

I have created a patch that was verified to work in Folsom release, I'm working to push another patch for Grizzly.
The tests I ran and passed: create a volume, attach to VM, detach from VM, and delete the volume.
I'd be glad to assist anyone who would like to help in reviewing or testing.

the code patch for Folsom can be found at:
https://github.com/mellanox/openstack

Instructions:
Require OFED or Inbox drivers to be installed.

Added two flags in "cinder.conf":
transport = iser (by default will be iscsi)
iser_ip_address = 192.168.20.140 (by default will be "iscsi_ip_address")

We plan to submit additional patches/drivers for SR-IOV/Performance, Security, and QoS later on, contact me for early access requests on those, or use "openstack at mellanox.com" for support/tech questions .

Best Regards,

Shlomi Sasson | Solution Integration Engineer
Mellanox Technologies Ltd.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
http://twitter.com/mellanoxtech
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mellanox-Technologies/223164879116