QLogic OFED+ Host Software User Guide, Rev. B

C–VirtualNIC Interface Configuration and Administration
VirtualNIC Interface Configuration and Administration
IB Host 1
IB Host 2
IB Switch
EVIC
IB Host 3
Multicast
Data (RC)
Figure C-1. Without IB_Multicast
Figure C-1 is showing that each multicast packet is sent by the EVIC via the
Reliable Connect (RC) Queue Pair to each and every host. In the case when
multicast applications on multiple hosts are sharing the same multicast address,
the result is large amounts of traffic, one per host, between the EVIC and the
switch. This also creates additional work load for the EVIC.
With multicast enabled at the host using IB_MULTICAST (located in the VNIC
configuration file) and also enabled at the EVIC, multicast traffic is handled as
follows:
C-10 D000046-005 B