RE: [RFC PATCH 1/5] IB/core: Add Core Capability flags to ib_device

Hefty, Sean
2015-05-05T20:29:01Z

> > In other words, I think that 'protocol' should uniquely distinguish
> interoperable
> > peers at the Verbs API level. We are *not* trying to describe a certain
> header,
> > but rather a stack of protocols.
>
> Any non-UDP "protocol" that might currently be in use over usNIC is an
> entirely application-level protocol outside of the view of the Verbs API
> level.

I agree with this for usNIC. For other technologies, the definition isn't even this simple. UD QPs and RC QPs cannot interoperate, yet are treated as the same 'protocol'. Just defining protocol as a 'stack of protocols' shows how broken the approach is. And we haven't even tried to incorporate other 'protocols' needed to make this work, such as the CM or management protocols.