The IB interconnect is controlled by the following features:
IB ports – IB ports provide switching for the fabric. See Understanding Ports.
IB nodes – The three types of IB nodes include channel adapters, switches, or routers.
SM, Trusted MKey, and Untrusted MKey tables – These SM management key tables initialize and configure network switches. All SM groups in the fabric must be configured with the same readable M_KEY value.
Jumbo frames – Increases the throughput for Oracle FCAs. Set the jumbo frames before you create a public network. Up to 10,000 jumbo frames are supported for an Ethernet gateway. For the syntax, refer to set system in Oracle Fabric OS 1.0.2 Command Reference.
Subnet and subnet partitions – You can create a subnet or a subnet partition. A change to a subnet partition affects the whole subnet.
SM group – The SM group manages the switching tables within the IB fabric. When there are multiple SM groups on a subnet, an election algorithm determines which SM group will be the master group. The SM group is responsible for the following actions:
Discovering the physical topology of the subnet.
Assigning a priority.
Assigning group members.
Assigning LIDs (to the end nodes, switches, or routers).
Establishing possible paths among the end nodes.
Sweeping the subnet, discovering topology changes and managing changes as switches are added and deleted.