Virtual Interface Architecture: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:24, 29 September 2010

Revision as of 15:14, 8 May 2011

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The '''Virtual Interface Architecture''' ('''VIA''') is an abstract model of aan user-level [[zero-copy]] [[computer network|network]], and is the basis for [[InfiniBand]] and [[iWARP]]. Created by [[Microsoft]], [[Intel]], and [[Compaq]], the original VIA sought to standardize the interface for high-performance network technologies known as System Area Networks (SANs; not to be confused with [[Storage Area Network]]s).

Networks are a shared resource. In traditional networks such as [[Ethernet]], the network is protected by the [[kernel (computer science)|kernel]], which presents a tremendous performance bottleneck when [[lag|latency]] is an issue.