Draft:Libfabric

libfabric, also known as OpenFabrics Interfaces (OFI), is an open-source communication library framework that provides high-performance networking services for applications in high-performance computing (HPC), distributed computing, and parallel computing.[1]

It defines a low-level application programming interface (API) designed to abstract underlying network hardware and support efficient data transfer across communication fabrics such as InfiniBand, Ethernet, and shared memory systems.[2]

Overview

libfabric provides a portable interface for communication between processes in distributed environments. Its design seeks to expose the capabilities of modern network hardware while maintaining a consistent programming model.[2]

The library is developed within the OpenFabrics Interfaces Working Group (OFIWG), part of the OpenFabrics Alliance.[1]

libfabric is used as a communication layer in middleware such as Message Passing Interface (MPI) implementations, including Open MPI.[2]

Design

libfabric employs a modular architecture that separates application-level communication logic from network-specific implementations.[2]

The API is structured around a set of core abstractions, including:

  • Fabric, representing the communication infrastructure
  • Domain, representing access to a communication resource
  • Endpoint, providing communication capabilities
  • Completion and event queues, used to track asynchronous operations
  • Address vectors, used for peer addressing
  • Memory regions, enabling direct memory access operations

These abstractions allow applications to interact with a range of network technologies through a unified interface.[2]

Communication models

libfabric supports multiple communication paradigms, including:

These models support both two-sided and one-sided communication patterns commonly used in HPC applications.

Usage

libfabric is used in high-performance computing environments and distributed systems as a networking abstraction layer.[2] It is commonly employed by MPI implementations and other parallel programming frameworks to provide scalable communication across computer clusters and supercomputers.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "OpenFabrics Interfaces Working Group". OpenFabrics Alliance. OpenFabrics Alliance. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "OpenFabrics Interfaces (OFI) support". Open MPI Documentation. Open MPI Project. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
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