Microsoft KB Archive/938680

= Problems occur when you use Windows Server 2003 to implement Winsock Direct (WSD) in a fast System Area Network (SAN) environment =

Article ID: 938680

Article Last Modified on 11/2/2007

-

APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for Itanium-Based Systems

-



SYMPTOMS
When you use Microsoft Windows Server 2003 to implement Winsock Direct (WSD) in a fast System Area Network (SAN) environment, you may encounter one or more of the following problems:
 * WSD-based applications stop responding when you change the IP address.
 * WSD-based applications crash when you perform Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) operations.
 * Data that you receive is corrupted.
 * WSD-based applications run out of memory when you perform RDMA read operations.



CAUSE
These problems occur because of a problem in the Winsock Direct module.



Update information
The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Windows Server 2003

Download the 938680 package now.

Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based Systems

Download the 938680 package now.

Windows Server 2003 for x64-based Systems

Download the 938680 package now.

Windows XP x64 Edition

Download the 938680 package now.

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Prerequisites
To apply this update, you must have Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2 installed on the computer. For more information about how to obtain Windows Server 2003 SP2, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

889100 How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003

Restart information
You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this update.

Update replacement information
This update does not replace any other updates.

Registry information
You do not have to change the registry.

File information
The English version of this update has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Itanium-based versions


STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section.



MORE INFORMATION
If you have server applications that use the Winsock API, you can use WSD to deploy the server applications in a SAN environment. WSD bypasses the kernel networking layers. In a SAN environment, WSD communicates directly with the SAN hardware to provide faster communication between servers. WSD is supported in the following Windows operating systems:
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server Service Pack 1 (SP1)
 * Windows 2000 Advanced Server Service Pack 2 (SP2)
 * All versions of Windows Server 2003

Before you implement WSD in a SAN environment, you have to make sure that you have the appropriate hardware devices that support WSD. You can install multiple hardware devices that support RDMA. For example, you can install multiple network adapters that support RDMA. Or you can use InfiniBand to enable WSD.

By the end of April 2005, no hardware devices and the corresponding drivers exist to support WSD. However, many vendors plan to provide hardware devices and the corresponding drivers to support WSD. If you obtain a hardware device and the corresponding driver that support WSD, make sure that you use Windows Server 2003 with SP1 to implement WSD. The reason is that other Windows operating systems that support WSD may not work with this hardware device and with the corresponding driver.

