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Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/filesystems/automount-support.txt')
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diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/automount-support.txt b/Documentation/filesystems/automount-support.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..58c65a1713e --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/filesystems/automount-support.txt @@ -0,0 +1,118 @@ +Support is available for filesystems that wish to do automounting support (such +as kAFS which can be found in fs/afs/). This facility includes allowing +in-kernel mounts to be performed and mountpoint degradation to be +requested. The latter can also be requested by userspace. + + +====================== +IN-KERNEL AUTOMOUNTING +====================== + +A filesystem can now mount another filesystem on one of its directories by the +following procedure: + + (1) Give the directory a follow_link() operation. + + When the directory is accessed, the follow_link op will be called, and + it will be provided with the location of the mountpoint in the nameidata + structure (vfsmount and dentry). + + (2) Have the follow_link() op do the following steps: + + (a) Call do_kern_mount() to call the appropriate filesystem to set up a + superblock and gain a vfsmount structure representing it. + + (b) Copy the nameidata provided as an argument and substitute the dentry + argument into it the copy. + + (c) Call do_add_mount() to install the new vfsmount into the namespace's + mountpoint tree, thus making it accessible to userspace. Use the + nameidata set up in (b) as the destination. + + If the mountpoint will be automatically expired, then do_add_mount() + should also be given the location of an expiration list (see further + down). + + (d) Release the path in the nameidata argument and substitute in the new + vfsmount and its root dentry. The ref counts on these will need + incrementing. + +Then from userspace, you can just do something like: + + [root@andromeda root]# mount -t afs \#root.afs. /afs + [root@andromeda root]# ls /afs + asd cambridge cambridge.redhat.com grand.central.org + [root@andromeda root]# ls /afs/cambridge + afsdoc + [root@andromeda root]# ls /afs/cambridge/afsdoc/ + ChangeLog html LICENSE pdf RELNOTES-1.2.2 + +And then if you look in the mountpoint catalogue, you'll see something like: + + [root@andromeda root]# cat /proc/mounts + ... + #root.afs. /afs afs rw 0 0 + #root.cell. /afs/cambridge.redhat.com afs rw 0 0 + #afsdoc. /afs/cambridge.redhat.com/afsdoc afs rw 0 0 + + +=========================== +AUTOMATIC MOUNTPOINT EXPIRY +=========================== + +Automatic expiration of mountpoints is easy, provided you've mounted the +mountpoint to be expired in the automounting procedure outlined above. + +To do expiration, you need to follow these steps: + + (3) Create at least one list off which the vfsmounts to be expired can be + hung. Access to this list will be governed by the vfsmount_lock. + + (4) In step (2c) above, the call to do_add_mount() should be provided with a + pointer to this list. It will hang the vfsmount off of it if it succeeds. + + (5) When you want mountpoints to be expired, call mark_mounts_for_expiry() + with a pointer to this list. This will process the list, marking every + vfsmount thereon for potential expiry on the next call. + + If a vfsmount was already flagged for expiry, and if its usage count is 1 + (it's only referenced by its parent vfsmount), then it will be deleted + from the namespace and thrown away (effectively unmounted). + + It may prove simplest to simply call this at regular intervals, using + some sort of timed event to drive it. + +The expiration flag is cleared by calls to mntput. This means that expiration +will only happen on the second expiration request after the last time the +mountpoint was accessed. + +If a mountpoint is moved, it gets removed from the expiration list. If a bind +mount is made on an expirable mount, the new vfsmount will not be on the +expiration list and will not expire. + +If a namespace is copied, all mountpoints contained therein will be copied, +and the copies of those that are on an expiration list will be added to the +same expiration list. + + +======================= +USERSPACE DRIVEN EXPIRY +======================= + +As an alternative, it is possible for userspace to request expiry of any +mountpoint (though some will be rejected - the current process's idea of the +rootfs for example). It does this by passing the MNT_EXPIRE flag to +umount(). This flag is considered incompatible with MNT_FORCE and MNT_DETACH. + +If the mountpoint in question is in referenced by something other than +umount() or its parent mountpoint, an EBUSY error will be returned and the +mountpoint will not be marked for expiration or unmounted. + +If the mountpoint was not already marked for expiry at that time, an EAGAIN +error will be given and it won't be unmounted. + +Otherwise if it was already marked and it wasn't referenced, unmounting will +take place as usual. + +Again, the expiration flag is cleared every time anything other than umount() +looks at a mountpoint. |