History

ServerNet is a switched fabric

Switched fabric

Switched fabric, switching fabric, or just fabric, is a network topology where network nodes connect with each other via one or more network switches . The term is popular in telecommunication, Fibre Channel storage area networks and other high-speed networks, including InfiniBand...

 communications link primarily used in proprietary computers made by Tandem Computers

Tandem Computers

Tandem Computers, Inc. was the dominant manufacturer of fault-tolerant computer systems for ATM networks, banks, stock exchanges, telephone switching centers, and other similar commercial transaction processing applications requiring maximum uptime and zero data loss. The company was founded in...

, Compaq

Compaq

Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....

, and HP. Its features include good scalability

Scalability

In electronics scalability is the ability of a system, network, or process, to handle growing amount of work in a graceful manner or its ability to be enlarged to accommodate that growth...

, clean fault containment, error detection and failover

Failover

In computing, failover is automatic switching to a redundant or standby computer server, system, or network upon the failure or abnormal termination of the previously active application, server, system, or network...

. The ServerNet architecture specification defines a connection between nodes, either processor

Central processing unit

The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...

 or high performance I/O

Input/output

In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an information processing system , and the outside world, possibly a human, or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it...

 nodes such as storage devices. Tandem Computers

Tandem Computers

Tandem Computers, Inc. was the dominant manufacturer of fault-tolerant computer systems for ATM networks, banks, stock exchanges, telephone switching centers, and other similar commercial transaction processing applications requiring maximum uptime and zero data loss. The company was founded in...

 developed the original ServerNet architecture and protocols for use in its own proprietary computer systems starting in 1992, and released the first ServerNet systems in 1995. Early attempts to license the technology and interface chips to other companies failed, due in part to a disconnect between the culture of selling complete hardware / software / middleware computer systems and that needed for selling and supporting chips and licensing technology. A follow-on development effort ported the Virtual Interface Architecture

Virtual Interface Architecture

The Virtual Interface Architecture is an abstract model of a user-level zero-copy network, and is the basis for InfiniBand, iWARP and RoCE...

 to ServerNet with PCI interface boards connecting personal computers. Infiniband

InfiniBand

InfiniBand is a switched fabric communications link used in high-performance computing and enterprise data centers. Its features include high throughput, low latency, quality of service and failover, and it is designed to be scalable...

directly inherited many ServerNet features. After 25 years, systems still ship today based on the ServerNet architecture.