RoCE â RDMA over Converged Ethernet
Definition
A network protocol that allows RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) operations to run over standard Ethernet networks, providing ultra-low-latency host-to-host data transfer.
Context & Usage
RoCE bypasses the TCP/IP stack and CPU for network operations â sender writes directly to receiver memory. Two versions: RoCE v1 (Layer 2, single-subnet only) and RoCE v2 (Layer 3, routable). Used in HPC clusters, high-performance storage (NVMe-oF/RoCE), and AI training infrastructure. Latency: ~3-5 Ξs (vs ~100 Ξs for TCP). Requires lossless Ethernet (PFC, ECN configured).
Examples
- Mellanox ConnectX-6 supporting RoCE v2 100 GbE
- Pure Storage FlashArray with NVMe/RoCE
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