FreeFlow - Software-based Virtual RDMA Networking for Containerized Clouds

Explore a software-based RDMA virtualization framework designed for containerized cloud environments in this USENIX conference talk. Dive into the challenges of integrating RDMA networking with containerization and learn how FreeFlow addresses these issues. Discover how this solution provides isolation for multi-tenancy, portability for container migrations, and controllability for control and data plane policies. Examine the internal structure of verbs library, control path channel, and zero-copy synchronization in data path. Evaluate FreeFlow's performance in supporting low latency and high throughput, and understand its impact on applications like TensorFlow and Spark. Gain insights into the future of high-performance networking in containerized cloud environments.

Syllabus

Intro
Two Trends in Cloud Applications
Benefits of Containerization
Containerization and RDMA are in Conflict!
Existing H/W based Virtualization isn't Working
Sub-optimal Performance of Containerized Apps
Our Work: FreeFlow
FreeFlow Design Overview Native RDMA
Background on RDMA
FreeFlow in the Scene
Challenge 1: Verbs forwarding in Control Path
Internal Structure of Verbs Library
FreeFlow Control Path Channel
Challenge 2: Synchronizing Memory for Data Path
Strawman Approach for Synchronization
Zero-copy Synchronization in Data Path
FreeFlow Design Summary
Implementation and Experimental Setup
Does FreeFlow Support Low Latency?
Does FreeFlow Support High Throughput?