Datatype engine to support high performance computing

A network interface card, comprising:

• a command module to receive, via a message passing interface, a command to read data from a host memory;
• a packet formation module to:
• determine whether the command indicates a first datatype descriptor stored in a first datatype engine of the network interface card;
• responsive to determining that the command indicates the first datatype descriptor, form, based on the command, a packet which indicates a base address and a length associated with the data to be read from the host memory;
• and
• pass the packet to the first datatype engine;
• the first datatype engine to:
• generate a plurality of read requests comprising offsets from the base address and corresponding lengths based on the first datatype descriptor;
• and
• pass the plurality of read requests to a direct memory access module of the network interface card, thereby allowing the network interface card to access the host memory while eliminating copies of the data on the host during transfer of the command across a network;
• and
• the direct memory access module to issue the plurality of read requests to the host memory to obtain the data indicated in the command.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

• storing, by a datatype engine of a network interface card, one or more datatype descriptors created by a user associated with the computer;
• receiving, by the network interface card via a message passing interface, a command to read data from a host memory;
• determining whether the command indicates a first datatype descriptor stored in the datatype engine of the network interface card;
• responsive to determining that the command indicates the first datatype descriptor stored in the datatype engine of the network interface card:
• forming, based on the command, a packet which indicates a base address and a length associated with the data to be read from the host memory;
• passing the packet to the datatype engine;
• generating, by the datatype engine, a plurality of read requests comprising offsets from the base address and corresponding lengths based on the first datatype descriptor;
• and
• passing the plurality of read requests to a direct memory access module of the network interface card, thereby allowing the network interface card to access the host memory while eliminating copies of the data on the host during transfer of the command across a network.