[<img alt="libfabric master branch Travis CI status" src="https://travis-ci.org/ofiwg/libfabric.svg?branch=master"/>](https://travis-ci.org/ofiwg/libfabric)
[<img alt="libfabric Coverity scan suild status" src="https://scan.coverity.com/projects/4274/badge.svg"/>](https://scan.coverity.com/projects/4274)
[](https://github.com/ofiwg/libfabric/releases/latest)
# libfabric
The Open Fabrics Interfaces (OFI) is a framework focused on exporting fabric
communication services to applications.
See [the OFI web site](http://libfabric.org) for more details, including a
description and overview of the project, and detailed documentation of the
Libfabric APIs.
## Installing pre-built Libfabric packages
On OS X, the latest release of Libfabric can be installed using the
[Homebrew](https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew) package manager using the
following command:
```
$ brew install libfabric
```
Libfabric pre-built binaries may be available from other sources, such as Linux
distributions.
## Building and installing Libfabric from source
Distribution tarballs are available from the Github
[releases](https://github.com/ofiwg/libfabric/releases) tab.
If you are building Libfabric from a developer Git clone, you must first run
the `autogen.sh` script. This will invoke the GNU Autotools to bootstrap
Libfabric's configuration and build mechanisms. If you are building Libfabric
from an official distribution tarball, there is no need to run `autogen.sh`;
Libfabric distribution tarballs are already bootstrapped for you.
Libfabric currently supports GNU/Linux, Free BSD, and OS X.
### Configure options
The `configure` script has many built in options (see `./configure --help`).
Some useful options are:
```
--prefix=<directory>
```
By default `make install` will place the files in the `/usr` tree.
The `--prefix` option specifies that Libfabric files should be installed into
the tree specified by named `<directory>`. The executables will be located at
`<directory>/bin`.
```
--with-valgrind=<directory>
```
Directory where valgrind is installed. If valgrind is found, then valgrind
annotations are enabled. This may incur a performance penalty.
```
--enable-debug
```
Enable debug code paths. This enables various extra checks and allows for using
the highest verbosity logging output that is normally compiled out in
production builds.
```
--enable-<provider>=[yes|no|auto|dl|<directory>]
--disable-<provider>
```
This enables or disables the provider named `<provider>`. Valid options are:
- auto (This is the default if the `--enable-<provider>` option isn't specified)
The provider will be enabled if all of its requirements are satisfied. If one
of the requirements cannot be satisfied, then the provider is disabled.
- yes (This is the default if the `--enable-<provider>` option is specified)
The configure script will abort if the provider cannot be enabled (e.g., due
to some of its requirements not being available.
- no
Disable the provider. This is synonymous with `--disable-<provider>`.
- dl
Enable the provider and build it as a loadable library.
- \<directory\>
Enable the provider and use the installation given in `<directory>`.
### Examples
Consider the following example:
```
$ ./configure --prefix=/opt/libfabric --disable-sockets && make -j 32 && sudo make install
```
This will tell Libfabric to disable the `sockets` provider, and install
Libfabric in the `/opt/libfabric` tree. All other providers will be enabled if
possible and all debug features will be disabled.
Alternatively:
```
$ ./configure --prefix=/opt/libfabric --enable-debug --enable-psm=dl && make -j 32 && sudo make install
```
This will tell Libfabric to enable the `psm` provider as a loadable library,
enable all debug code paths, and install Libfabric to the `/opt/libfabric`
tree. All other providers will be enabled if possible.
## Validate installation
The fi_info utility can be used to validate the libfabric and provider
installation, as well as provide details about provider support and available
interfaces. See `fi_info(1)` man page for details on using the fi_info
utility. fi_info is installed as part of the libfabric package.
A more comprehensive test package is available via the fabtests package.
## Providers
### gni
***
The `gni` provider runs on Cray XC (TM) systems utilizing the user-space
Generic Network Interface (`uGNI`) which provides low-level access to
the Aries interconnect. The Aries interconnect is designed for
low-latency one-sided messaging and also includes direct hardware
support for common atomic operations and optimized collectives.
See the `fi_gni(7)` man page for more details.
#### Dependencies
- The `gni` provider requires `gcc` version 4.9 or higher.
### mxm
The MXM provider has been deprecated and was removed after the 1.4.0 release.
### psm
***
The `psm` provider runs over the PSM 1.x interface that is currently supported
by the Intel TrueScale Fabric. PSM provides tag-matching message queue
functions that are optimized for MPI implementations. PSM also has limited
Active Message support, which is not officially published but is quite stable
and well documented in the source code (part of the OFED release). The `psm`
provider makes use of both the tag-matching message queue functions and the
Active Message functions to support a variety of Libfabric data transfer APIs,
including tagged message queue, message queue, RMA, and atomic
operations.
The `psm` provider can work with the `psm2-compat` library, which exposes
a PSM 1.x interface over the Intel Omni-Path Fabric.
See the `fi_psm(7)` man page for more details.
### psm2
***
The `psm2` provider runs over the PSM 2.x interface that is supported
by the Intel Omni-Path Fabric. PSM 2.x has all the PSM 1.x features plus a set
of new functions with enhanced capabilities. Since PSM 1.x and PSM 2.x are not
ABI compatible, the `psm2` provider only works with PSM 2.x and doesn't support
Intel TrueScale Fabric.
See the `fi_psm2(7)` man page for more details.
### sockets
***
The `sockets` provider is a general purpose provider that can be used on any
system that supports TCP sockets. The provider is not intended to provide
performance improvements over regular TCP sockets, but rather to allow
developers to write, test, and debug application code even on platforms
that do not have high-performance fabric hardware. The sockets provider
supports all Libfabric provider requirements and interfaces.
See the `fi_sockets(7)` man page for more details.
### udp
***
The `udp` provider is a basic provider that can be used on any system that
supports UDP sockets. The provider is not intended to provide performance
improvements over regular UDP sockets, but rather to allow application and
provider developers to write, test, and debug their code. The `udp` provider
forms the foundation of a utility provider that enables the implementation of
Libfabric features over any hardware.
See the `fi_udp(7)` man page for more details.
### usnic
***
The `usnic` provider is designed to run over the Cisco VIC (virtualized NIC)
hardware on Cisco UCS servers. It utilizes the Cisco usnic (userspace NIC)
capabilities of the VIC to enable ultra low latency and other offload
capabilities on Ethernet networks.
See the `fi_usnic(7)` man page for more details.
#### Dependencies
- The `usnic` provider depends on library files from either `libnl` version 1
(sometimes known as `libnl` or `libnl1`) or version 3 (sometimes known as
`libnl3`). If you are compiling Libfabric from source and want to enable
usNIC support, you will also need the matching `libnl` header files (e.g.,
if you are building with `libnl` version 3, you need both the header and
library files from version 3).
#### Configure options
```
--with-libnl=<directory>
```
If specified, look for libnl support. If it is not found then the `usnic`
provider will not be built. If `<directory>` is specified, then check in the
directory and check for `libnl` version 3. If version 3 is not found, then
check for version 1. If no `<directory>` argument is specified, then this
option is redundant with `--with-usnic`.
### verbs
***
The verbs provider enables applications using OFI to be run over any verbs
hardware (Infiniband, iWarp, etc). It uses the Linux Verbs API for network
transport and provides a translation of OFI calls to appropriate verbs API calls.
It uses librdmacm for communication management and libibverbs for other control
and data transfer operations.
See the `fi_verbs(7)` man page for more details.
#### Dependencies
- The verbs provider requires libibverbs (v1.1.8 or newer) and librdmacm (v1.0.16
or newer). If you are compiling Libfabric from source and want to enable verbs
support, you will also need the matching header files for the above two libraries.
If the libraries and header files are not in default paths, specify them in CFLAGS,
LDFLAGS and LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variables.
### bgq
***
The `bgq` provider is a native provider that directly utilizes the hardware
interfaces of the Blue Gene/Q system to implement aspects of the libfabric
interface to fully support MPICH3 CH4.
See the `fi_bgq(7)` man page for more details
#### Dependencies
- The `bgq` provider depends on the system programming interfaces (SPI) and
the hardware interfaces (HWI) located in the Blue Gene/Q driver installation.
Additionally, the open source Blue Gene/Q system files are required.
#### Configure options
```
If specified, set the progress mode enabled in FABRIC_DIRECT (default is FI_PROGRESS_MANUAL).
```
If specified, set the memory registration mode (default is FI_MR_BASIC).