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diff --git a/Documentation/filesystems/exofs.txt b/Documentation/filesystems/exofs.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..0ced74c2f73 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/filesystems/exofs.txt @@ -0,0 +1,176 @@ +=============================================================================== +WHAT IS EXOFS? +=============================================================================== + +exofs is a file system that uses an OSD and exports the API of a normal Linux +file system. Users access exofs like any other local file system, and exofs +will in turn issue commands to the local OSD initiator. + +OSD is a new T10 command set that views storage devices not as a large/flat +array of sectors but as a container of objects, each having a length, quota, +time attributes and more. Each object is addressed by a 64bit ID, and is +contained in a 64bit ID partition. Each object has associated attributes +attached to it, which are integral part of the object and provide metadata about +the object. The standard defines some common obligatory attributes, but user +attributes can be added as needed. + +=============================================================================== +ENVIRONMENT +=============================================================================== + +To use this file system, you need to have an object store to run it on. You +may download a target from: +http://open-osd.org + +See Documentation/scsi/osd.txt for how to setup a working osd environment. + +=============================================================================== +USAGE +=============================================================================== + +1. Download and compile exofs and open-osd initiator: + You need an external Kernel source tree or kernel headers from your + distribution. (anything based on 2.6.26 or later). + + a. download open-osd including exofs source using: + [parent-directory]$ git clone git://git.open-osd.org/open-osd.git + + b. Build the library module like this: + [parent-directory]$ make -C KSRC=$(KER_DIR) open-osd + + This will build both the open-osd initiator as well as the exofs kernel + module. Use whatever parameters you compiled your Kernel with and + $(KER_DIR) above pointing to the Kernel you compile against. See the file + open-osd/top-level-Makefile for an example. + +2. Get the OSD initiator and target set up properly, and login to the target. + See Documentation/scsi/osd.txt for farther instructions. Also see ./do-osd + for example script that does all these steps. + +3. Insmod the exofs.ko module: + [exofs]$ insmod exofs.ko + +4. Make sure the directory where you want to mount exists. If not, create it. + (For example, mkdir /mnt/exofs) + +5. At first run you will need to invoke the mkfs.exofs application + + As an example, this will create the file system on: + /dev/osd0 partition ID 65536 + + mkfs.exofs --pid=65536 --format /dev/osd0 + + The --format is optional if not specified no OSD_FORMAT will be + preformed and a clean file system will be created in the specified pid, + in the available space of the target. (Use --format=size_in_meg to limit + the total LUN space available) + + If pid already exist it will be deleted and a new one will be created in it's + place. Be careful. + + An exofs lives inside a single OSD partition. You can create multiple exofs + filesystems on the same device using multiple pids. + + (run mkfs.exofs without any parameters for usage help message) + +6. Mount the file system. + + For example, to mount /dev/osd0, partition ID 0x10000 on /mnt/exofs: + + mount -t exofs -o pid=65536 /dev/osd0 /mnt/exofs/ + +7. For reference (See do-exofs example script): + do-exofs start - an example of how to perform the above steps. + do-exofs stop - an example of how to unmount the file system. + do-exofs format - an example of how to format and mkfs a new exofs. + +8. Extra compilation flags (uncomment in fs/exofs/Kbuild): + CONFIG_EXOFS_DEBUG - for debug messages and extra checks. + +=============================================================================== +exofs mount options +=============================================================================== +Similar to any mount command: + mount -t exofs -o exofs_options /dev/osdX mount_exofs_directory + +Where: + -t exofs: specifies the exofs file system + + /dev/osdX: X is a decimal number. /dev/osdX was created after a successful + login into an OSD target. + + mount_exofs_directory: The directory to mount the file system on + + exofs specific options: Options are separated by commas (,) + pid=<integer> - The partition number to mount/create as + container of the filesystem. + This option is mandatory + to=<integer> - Timeout in ticks for a single command + default is (60 * HZ) [for debugging only] + +=============================================================================== +DESIGN +=============================================================================== + +* The file system control block (AKA on-disk superblock) resides in an object + with a special ID (defined in common.h). + Information included in the file system control block is used to fill the + in-memory superblock structure at mount time. This object is created before + the file system is used by mkexofs.c It contains information such as: + - The file system's magic number + - The next inode number to be allocated + +* Each file resides in its own object and contains the data (and it will be + possible to extend the file over multiple objects, though this has not been + implemented yet). + +* A directory is treated as a file, and essentially contains a list of <file + name, inode #> pairs for files that are found in that directory. The object + IDs correspond to the files' inode numbers and will be allocated according to + a bitmap (stored in a separate object). Now they are allocated using a + counter. + +* Each file's control block (AKA on-disk inode) is stored in its object's + attributes. This applies to both regular files and other types (directories, + device files, symlinks, etc.). + +* Credentials are generated per object (inode and superblock) when they is + created in memory (read off disk or created). The credential works for all + operations and is used as long as the object remains in memory. + +* Async OSD operations are used whenever possible, but the target may execute + them out of order. The operations that concern us are create, delete, + readpage, writepage, update_inode, and truncate. The following pairs of + operations should execute in the order written, and we need to prevent them + from executing in reverse order: + - The following are handled with the OBJ_CREATED and OBJ_2BCREATED + flags. OBJ_CREATED is set when we know the object exists on the OSD - + in create's callback function, and when we successfully do a read_inode. + OBJ_2BCREATED is set in the beginning of the create function, so we + know that we should wait. + - create/delete: delete should wait until the object is created + on the OSD. + - create/readpage: readpage should be able to return a page + full of zeroes in this case. If there was a write already + en-route (i.e. create, writepage, readpage) then the page + would be locked, and so it would really be the same as + create/writepage. + - create/writepage: if writepage is called for a sync write, it + should wait until the object is created on the OSD. + Otherwise, it should just return. + - create/truncate: truncate should wait until the object is + created on the OSD. + - create/update_inode: update_inode should wait until the + object is created on the OSD. + - Handled by VFS locks: + - readpage/delete: shouldn't happen because of page lock. + - writepage/delete: shouldn't happen because of page lock. + - readpage/writepage: shouldn't happen because of page lock. + +=============================================================================== +LICENSE/COPYRIGHT +=============================================================================== +The exofs file system is based on ext2 v0.5b (distributed with the Linux kernel +version 2.6.10). All files include the original copyrights, and the license +is GPL version 2 (only version 2, as is true for the Linux kernel). The +Linux kernel can be downloaded from www.kernel.org. |