Chapter 9. Intro to the Managers

The Previous Chapter

The previous chapter described the 128-bit global address used to route a packet from its source CA port in one subnet to the destination CA port in another subnet. IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) addresses were introduced (both unicast and multicast) as well as the documentation convention used for IPv6 addresses. Each 128-bit global address consists of a 64-bit subnet prefix and a 64-bit globally unique ID (GUID). This chapter described how all ports in a subnet are assigned the same subnet ID as well as one or more GUIDs. The concept of a global multipathing was introduced.

This Chapter

This chapter introduces the Subnet Manager (SM), the Subnet Management Agent (SMA), the General Services Managers (GSMs), the General Services Agents (GSAs), the Subnet Administrator (SA), the Subnet Management Interface (SMI), the General Services Interface (GSI), Subnet Management Packets (SMPs), and General Services Management Packets (GMPs). The possibility of multiple SMs in one subnet is introduced, as is the concept of GMP redirection, how a trap can deliver an event notification to a manager, and how an entity can subscribe to a manager for the forwarding of event notifications.

The Next Chapter

The next chapter starts by introducing the concept of services, how a CA is located, and the discovery of what services that CA provides. Having located a service provider, a communications channel must be established between the local application program and the service provider. The chapter provides a basic description of the process used to establish a communications channel between a RC, UC, RD, or UD QP type in the local CA and a QP of the same type in the CA that will provide the desired service.