We have reported first efforts towards a portable MPI library on top of an unreliable network interface. As a next step, we intend to include the rendezvous protocol to be able to send large messages, and get accurate bandwidth measurements. For this transfer mode, we certainly have to provide flow control. Once this phase is completed, it is not much more work to get the complete ADI and then MPI up and running. Only then will we be in a position to evaluate the protocol in a real environment, and test its performance and correctness for a wider range of cases.
Lastly we would like to mention that Intel, Compaq, and Microsoft have
joined forces to create the Virtual Interface
Architecture
(VIA) standard,
see for instance
http://www.pentium.com/pressroom/archive/releases/SP041697.HTM. While
we must remain confidential about the details, we can say that VIA is
similar enough to U-Net to require only small modifications to our
existing U-Net implementation.