Design and performance evaluation of NUMA-aware RDMA-based end-to-end data transfer systems

Data-intensive applications place stringent requirements on the performance of both back-end storage systems and frontend network interfaces. However, for ultra high-speed data transfer, for example, at 100 Gbps and higher, the effects of multiple bottlenecks along a full end-to-end path, have not been resolved efficiently. In this paper, we describe our implementation of an end-to-end data transfer software at such high-speeds. At the back-end, we construct a storage area network with the iSCSI protocols, and utilize efficient RDMA technology. At the front-end, we design network communication software to transfer data in parallel, and utilize NUMA techniques to maximize the performance of multiple network interfaces. We demonstrate that our system can deliver the full 100 Gbps end-to-end data transfer throughput. The software product is tested rigorously and demonstrated applicable to supporting various data-intensive applications that constantly move bulk data within and across data centers.