iSER iSCSI-over-RDMA storage initiator
An initiator for iSCSI Extensions for RDMA, a protocol that runs iSCSI storage traffic over InfiniBand or RoCE network adapters instead of plain TCP. It is used in enterprise data centers and HPC clusters that want low-latency, high-throughput access to remote block storage on modern RDMA-capable HCAs from vendors like NVIDIA/Mellanox.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel and is worth a short note about its niche audience. The code is still being actively maintained, with patches landing as recently as November 2025, and NVIDIA continues to ship and document iSER for current RDMA hardware. The user base is narrow — mainly enterprise storage and HPC shops with InfiniBand or RoCE fabrics — but the hardware is still sold new and the protocol remains a supported deployment option.
repository signals
sources
- lore.kernel.org
`iscsi_iser.c` saw upstream maintenance in November 2025, indicating the driver is still receiving attention.
- lore.kernel.org
A 2025 linux-rdma patch touched iSER directly; recent traffic is maintenance/cleanup, not removal.
- docs.nvidia.com
NVIDIA published current 2026 documentation for iSER initiator/targets, showing the protocol remains supported with modern RDMA deployments.
- cateee.net
LKDDb shows `CONFIG_INFINIBAND_ISER` still present through 7.0-rc+HEAD, so the upstream kernel still carries the option.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
This is a real driver/ULP module (`iSCSI Extensions for RDMA`). `lore_activity` on `drivers/infiniband/ulp/iser/iscsi_iser.c` showed 32 touches in the last 5y, including the cited 2025 linux-rdma patches; checked traffic looked like ongoing maintenance rather than deprecation/removal. `lore_file_timeline` on the directory path returned no matches, which appears to be a path-index limitation for directories, not evidence of inactivity. Web search found current NVIDIA iSER docs and the LKDDb config page, supporting that iSER still targets currently sold RDMA hardware, but as a niche enterprise/storage deployment rather than mass-market hardware. Source acquisition: first two URLs via `lore_activity`; NVIDIA and LKDDb URLs via web search.