For performance-optimized networking, the Content Software for File system does not use standard kernel-based TCP/IP services, but a proprietary infrastructure based on the following:
- Use DPDK to map the network device in the user space and use the network device without any context switches and with zero-copy access. This bypassing of the kernel stack eliminates the consumption of kernel resources for networking operations. It applies to backends and clients and lets the Content Software for File system saturate network links (including, for example, 200 Gbps or 400 Gbps).
- Implementing a proprietary Content Software for File protocol over UDP, i.e., the underlying network, may involve routing between subnets or any other networking infrastructure that supports UDP.
The use of DPDK delivers operations with extremely low-latency and high throughput. Low latency is achieved by bypassing the kernel and sending and receiving packages directly from the NIC. High throughput is achieved because multiple cores in the same host can work in parallel, without a common bottleneck.
Before proceeding, it is important to understand several key terms used in this section, namely DPDK and SR-IOV.