Single Root I/O Virtualization
Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) is an extension to the PCI Express (PCIe) specification that improves the performance of virtual networks for OpenStack workloads. SR-IOV enables network traffic to bypass the level of software switching and interact directly with PCI network device resources within a virtual machine.
By using SR-IOV, you can achieve network performance levels nearly equal to non-virtualized hardware. SR-IOV allows multiple virtual machines to share a single physical network interface, known as a Physical Function (PF), by creating child network interfaces called Virtual Functions (VFs).
SR-IOV use cases
Mirantis validates the following common SR-IOV usage scenarios to ensure architectural stability and high-performance networking:
North-South routing with distributed floating IP addresses
North-South routing with non-distributed floating IP addresses
Tenant network connectivity
These use cases have different limitations depending on the networking backend. Use the following table to verify compatibility for your deployment.