Skip to main content

Parallel NFS (pNFS) Flexible File Layout
draft-ietf-nfsv4-flex-files-01

The information below is for an old version of the document.
Document Type
This is an older version of an Internet-Draft that was ultimately published as RFC 8435.
Authors Benny Halevy , Thomas Haynes
Last updated 2014-09-04
RFC stream Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Formats
Reviews
Additional resources Mailing list discussion
Stream WG state WG Document
Document shepherd (None)
IESG IESG state Became RFC 8435 (Proposed Standard)
Consensus boilerplate Unknown
Telechat date (None)
Responsible AD (None)
Send notices to (None)
draft-ietf-nfsv4-flex-files-01
NFSv4                                                          B. Halevy
Internet-Draft                                                 T. Haynes
Intended status: Informational                              Primary Data
Expires: March 8, 2015                                September 04, 2014

                Parallel NFS (pNFS) Flexible File Layout
                   draft-ietf-nfsv4-flex-files-01.txt

Abstract

   The Parallel Network File System (pNFS) allows a separation between
   the metadata and data for a file.  The metadata file access is
   handled via Network File System version 4 (NFSv4) minor version 1
   (NFSv4.1) and the data file access is specific to the protocol being
   used between the client and storage device.  The client is informed
   by the metadata server as to which protocol to use via a Layout Type.
   The Flexible File Layout Type is defined in this document as an
   extension to NFSv4.1 to allow the use of storage devices which need
   not be tightly coupled to the metadata server.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on March 8, 2015.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2014 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                 [Page 1]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.2.  Difference Between a Data Server and a Storage Device . .   5
     1.3.  Requirements Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   2.  Coupling of Storage Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.1.  LAYOUTCOMMIT  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     2.2.  Security Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     2.3.  State and Locking Models  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   3.  XDR Description of the Flexible File Layout Type  . . . . . .   7
     3.1.  Code Components Licensing Notice  . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   4.  Device Addressing and Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     4.1.  ff_device_addr  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     4.2.  Storage Device Multipathing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   5.  Flexible File Layout Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     5.1.  ff_layout4  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   6.  Striping via Sparse Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   7.  Recovering from Client I/O Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   8.  Mirroring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
     8.1.  Selecting a Mirror  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
     8.2.  Writing to Mirrors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     8.3.  Metadata Server Resilvering of the File . . . . . . . . .  16
   9.  Flexible Files Layout Type Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     9.1.  ff_ioerr  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
     9.2.  ff_iostats  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     9.3.  ff_layoutreturn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   10. Flexible Files Layout Type LAYOUTERROR  . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   11. Flexible Files Layout Type LAYOUTSTATS  . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   12. Flexible File Layout Type Creation Hint . . . . . . . . . . .  20
     12.1.  ff_layouthint4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   13. Recalling Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
     13.1.  CB_RECALL_ANY  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   14. Client Fencing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   15. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
   16. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
   17. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
     17.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
     17.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
   Appendix A.  Acknowledgments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
   Appendix B.  RFC Editor Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                 [Page 2]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

1.  Introduction

   In the parallel Network File System (pNFS), the metadata server
   returns Layout Type structures that describe where file data is
   located.  There are different Layout Types for different storage
   systems and methods of arranging data on storage devices.  This
   document defines the Flexible File Layout Type used with file-based
   data servers that are accessed using the Network File System (NFS)
   protocols: NFSv3 [RFC1813], NFSv4 [RFC3530], NFSv4.1 [RFC5661], and
   NFSv4.2 [NFSv42].

   To provide a global state model equivalent to that of the Files
   Layout Type, a back-end control protocol MAY be implemented between
   the metadata server and NFSv4.1 storage devices.  It is out of scope
   for this document to specify the wire protocol of such a protocol,
   yet the requirements for the protocol are specified in [RFC5661] and
   clarified in [pNFSLayouts].

1.1.  Definitions

   control protocol:  is a set of requirements for the communication of
      information on layouts, stateids, file metadata, and file data
      between the metadata server and the storage devices (see
      [pNFSLayouts]).

   data file:  is that part of the file system object which describes
      the payload and not the object.  E.g., it is the file contents.

   Data Server (DS):  is one of the pNFS servers which provide the
      contents of a file system object which is a regular file.
      Depending on the layout, there might be one or more data servers
      over which the data is striped.  Note that while the metadata
      server is strictly accessed over the NFSv4.1 protocol, depending
      on the Layout Type, the data server could be accessed via any
      protocol that meets the pNFS requirements.

   fencing:  is when the metadata server prevents the storage devices
      from processing I/O from a specific client to a specific file.

   File Layout Type:  is a Layout Type in which the storage devices are
      accessed via the NFSv4.1 protocol.  It is defined in Section 13 of
      [RFC5661].

   layout:  informs a client of which storage devices it needs to
      communicate with (and over which protocol) to perform I/O on a
      file.  The layout might also provide some hints about how the
      storage is physically organized.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                 [Page 3]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   layout iomode:  describes whether the layout granted to the client is
      for read or read/write I/O.

   layout stateid:  is a 128-bit quantity returned by a server that
      uniquely defines the layout state provided by the server for a
      specific layout that describes a Layout Type and file (see
      Section 12.5.2 of [RFC5661]).  Further, Section 12.5.3 describes
      the difference between a layout stateid and a normal stateid.

   Layout Type:  describes both the storage protocol used to access the
      data and the aggregation scheme used to lays out the file data on
      the underlying storage devices.

   loose coupling:  is when the metadata server and the storage devices
      do not have a control protocol present.

   metadata file:  is that part of the file system object which
      describes the object and not the payload.  E.g., it could be the
      time since last modification, access, etc.

   Metadata Server (MDS):  is the pNFS server which provides metadata
      information for a file system object.  It also is responsible for
      generating layouts for file system objects.  Note that the MDS is
      responsible for directory-based operations.

   Mirror:  is a copy of a file.  While mirroring can be used for
      backing up a file, the copies can be distrbuted such that each
      remote site has a locally cached copy.  Note that if one copy of
      the mirror is updated, then all copies must be updated.

   Object Layout Type:  is a Layout Type in which the storage devices
      are accessed via the OSD protocol [ANSI400-2004].  It is defined
      in [RFC5664].

   recalling a layout:  is when the metadata server uses a back channel
      to inform the client that the layout is to be returned in a
      graceful manner.  Note that the client could be able to flush any
      writes, etc., before replying to the metadata server.

   revoking a layout:  is when the metadata server invalidates the
      layout such that neither the metadata server nor any storage
      device will accept any access from the client with that layout.

   resilvering:  is the act of rebuilding a mirrored copy of a file from
      a known good copy of the file.  Note that this can also be done to
      create a new mirrored copy of the file.

   rsize:  is the data transfer buffer size used for reads.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                 [Page 4]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   stateid:  is a 128-bit quantity returned by a server that uniquely
      defines the open and locking states provided by the server for a
      specific open-owner or lock-owner/open-owner pair for a specific
      file and type of lock.

   storage device:  is another term used almost interchangeably with
      data server.  See Section 1.2 for the nuances between the two.

   tight coupling:  is when the metadata server and the storage devices
      do have a control protocol present.

   wsize:  is the data transfer buffer size used for writes.

1.2.  Difference Between a Data Server and a Storage Device

   We defined a data server as a pNFS server, which implies that it can
   utilize the NFSv4.1 protocol to communicate with the client.  As
   such, only the File Layout Type would currently meet this
   requirement.  The more generic concept is a storage device, which can
   use any protocol to communicate with the client.  The requirements
   for a storage device to act together with the metadata server to
   provide data to a client are that there is a Layout Type
   specification for the given protocol and that the metadata server has
   granted a layout to the client.  Note that nothing precludes there
   being multiple supported Layout Types (i.e., protocols) between a
   metadata server, storage devices, and client.

   As storage device is the more encompassing terminology, this document
   utilizes it over data server.

1.3.  Requirements Language

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

2.  Coupling of Storage Devices

   The coupling of the metadata server with the storage devices can be
   either tight or loose.  In a tight coupling, there is a control
   protocol present to manage security, LAYOUTCOMMITs, etc.  With a
   loose coupling, the only control protocol might be a version of NFS.
   As such, semantics for managing security, state, and locking models
   MUST be defined.

   A file is split into metadata and data.  The "metadata file" is that
   part of the file stored on the metadata server.  The "data file" is

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                 [Page 5]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   that part of the file stored on the storage device.  And the "file"
   is the combination of the two.

2.1.  LAYOUTCOMMIT

   With a tightly coupled system, when the metadata server receives a
   LAYOUTCOMMIT (see Section 18.42 of [RFC5661]), the semantics of the
   File Layout Type MUST be met (see Section 12.5.4 of [RFC5661]).  With
   a loosely coupled system, a LAYOUTCOMMIT to the metadata server MUST
   be proceeded with a COMMIT to the storage device.  I.e., it is the
   responsibility of the client to make sure the data file is stable
   before the metadata server begins to query the storage devices about
   the changes to the file.  Note that if the client has not done a
   COMMIT to the storage device, then the LAYOUTCOMMIT might not be
   synchronized to the last WRITE operation to the storage device.

2.2.  Security Models

   With loosely coupled storage devices, the metadata server uses
   synthetic uids and gids for the data file, where the uid owner of the
   data file is allowed read/write access and the gid owner is allowed
   read only access.  As part of the layout, the client is provided with
   the rpc credentials to be used (see ffm_auth in Section 5.1) to
   access the data file.  Fencing off clients is achieved by using
   SETATTR by the server to change the uid and/or gid owners of the data
   file to implicitly revoke the outstanding rpc credentials.  Note: it
   is recommended to implement common access control methods at the
   storage device filesystem exports level to allow only the metadata
   server root (super user) access to the storage device, and to set the
   owner of all directories holding data files to the root user.  This
   security method, when using weak auth flavors such as AUTH_SYS,
   provides a practical model to enforce access control and fence off
   cooperative clients, but it can not protect against malicious
   clients; hence it provides a level of security equivalent to NFSv3.

   With tightly coupled storage devices, the metadata server sets the
   user and group owners, mode bits, and ACL of the data file to be the
   same as the metadata file.  And the client must authenticate with the
   storage device and go through the same authorization process it would
   go through via the metadata server.

2.3.  State and Locking Models

   Metadata file OPEN, LOCK, and DELEGATION operations are always
   executed only against the metadata server.

   With NFSv4 storage devices, the metadata server, in response to the
   state changing operation, executes them against the respective data

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                 [Page 6]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   files on the storage devices.  It then sends the storage device open
   stateid as part of the layout (see the ffm_stateid in Section 5.1)
   and it is then used by the client for executing READ/WRITE operations
   against the storage device.

   Standalone NFSv4.1 storage devices that do not return the
   EXCHGID4_FLAG_USE_PNFS_DS flag to EXCHANGE_ID are used the same way
   as NFSv4 storage devices.

   NFSv4.1 clustered storage devices that do identify themselves with
   the EXCHGID4_FLAG_USE_PNFS_DS flag to EXCHANGE_ID use a back-end
   control protocol as described in [RFC5661] to implement a global
   stateid model as defined there.

3.  XDR Description of the Flexible File Layout Type

   This document contains the external data representation (XDR)
   [RFC4506] description of the Flexible File Layout Type.  The XDR
   description is embedded in this document in a way that makes it
   simple for the reader to extract into a ready-to-compile form.  The
   reader can feed this document into the following shell script to
   produce the machine readable XDR description of the Flexible File
   Layout Type:

   #!/bin/sh
   grep '^ *///' $* | sed 's?^ */// ??' | sed 's?^ *///$??'

   That is, if the above script is stored in a file called "extract.sh",
   and this document is in a file called "spec.txt", then the reader can
   do:

   sh extract.sh < spec.txt > flex_files_prot.x

   The effect of the script is to remove leading white space from each
   line, plus a sentinel sequence of "///".

   The embedded XDR file header follows.  Subsequent XDR descriptions,
   with the sentinel sequence are embedded throughout the document.

   Note that the XDR code contained in this document depends on types
   from the NFSv4.1 nfs4_prot.x file [RFC5662].  This includes both nfs
   types that end with a 4, such as offset4, length4, etc., as well as
   more generic types such as uint32_t and uint64_t.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                 [Page 7]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

3.1.  Code Components Licensing Notice

   Both the XDR description and the scripts used for extracting the XDR
   description are Code Components as described in Section 4 of "Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents" [LEGAL].  These Code
   Components are licensed according to the terms of that document.

   /// /*
   ///  * Copyright (c) 2012 IETF Trust and the persons identified
   ///  * as authors of the code. All rights reserved.
   ///  *
   ///  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with
   ///  * or without modification, are permitted provided that the
   ///  * following conditions are met:
   ///  *
   ///  * o Redistributions of source code must retain the above
   ///  *   copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
   ///  *   following disclaimer.
   ///  *
   ///  * o Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
   ///  *   copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
   ///  *   following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other
   ///  *   materials provided with the distribution.
   ///  *
   ///  * o Neither the name of Internet Society, IETF or IETF
   ///  *   Trust, nor the names of specific contributors, may be
   ///  *   used to endorse or promote products derived from this
   ///  *   software without specific prior written permission.
   ///  *
   ///  *   THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
   ///  *   AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
   ///  *   WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
   ///  *   IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
   ///  *   FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO
   ///  *   EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
   ///  *   LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
   ///  *   EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
   ///  *   NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
   ///  *   SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
   ///  *   INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
   ///  *   LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
   ///  *   OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
   ///  *   IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
   ///  *   ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
   ///  *
   ///  * This code was derived from RFCTBD10.
   ///  * Please reproduce this note if possible.
   ///  */

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                 [Page 8]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   ///
   /// /*
   ///  * flex_files_prot.x
   ///  */
   ///
   /// /*
   ///  * The following include statements are for example only.
   ///  * The actual XDR definition files are generated separately
   ///  * and independently and are likely to have a different name.
   ///  * %#include <nfsv42.x>
   ///  * %#include <rpc_prot.x>
   ///  */
   ///

4.  Device Addressing and Discovery

   Data operations to a storage device require the client to know the
   network address of the storage device.  The NFSv4.1 GETDEVICEINFO
   operation (Section 18.40 of [RFC5661]) is used by the client to
   retrieve that information.

4.1.  ff_device_addr

   The ff_device_addr data structure is returned by the server as the
   storage protocol specific opaque field da_addr_body in the
   device_addr4 structure by a successful GETDEVICEINFO operation.

   /// struct ff_device_addr {
   ///     multipath_list4 ffda_netaddrs;
   ///     uint32_t        ffda_version;
   ///     uint32_t        ffda_minorversion;
   ///     uint32_t        ffda_rsize;
   ///     uint32_t        ffda_wsize;
   ///     bool            ffda_tightly_coupled;
   /// };
   ///

   The ffda_netaddrs field is used to locate the storage device.  It
   MUST be set by the server to a list holding one or more of the device
   network addresses.

   The ffda_version and ffda_minorversion represent the NFS protocol to
   be used to access the storage device.  This layout specification
   defines the semantics for ffda_versions 3 and 4.  If ffda_version
   equals 3 then server MUST set ffda_minorversion to 0 and the client
   MUST access the storage device using the NFSv3 protocol [RFC1813].
   If ffda_version equals 4 then the server MUST set ffda_minorversion

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                 [Page 9]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   to one of the NFSv4 minor version numbers and the client MUST access
   the storage device using NFSv4.

   The ffda_rsize and ffda_wsize are used to communicate the maximum
   rsize and wsize supported by the storage device.  As the storage
   device can have a different rsize or wsize than the metadata server,
   the ffda_rsize and ffda_wsize allow the metadata server to
   communicate that information on behalf of the storage device.

   ffda_tightly_coupled informs the client as to whether the metadata
   server is tightly coupled with the storage devices or not.  Note that
   even if the data protocol is at least NFSv4.1, it may still be the
   case that there is no control protocol present.  If
   ffda_tightly_coupled is not set, then the client MUST commit writes
   to the storage devices for the file before sending a LAYOUTCOMMIT to
   the metadata server.  I.e., the writes MUST be committed by the
   client to stable storage via issuing WRITEs with stable_how ==
   FILE_SYNC or by issuing a COMMIT after WRITEs with stable_how !=
   FILE_SYNC (see Section 3.3.7 of [RFC1813]).

4.2.  Storage Device Multipathing

   The Flexible File Layout Type supports multipathing to multiple
   storage device addresses.  Storage device level multipathing is used
   for bandwidth scaling via trunking and for higher availability of use
   in the case of a storage device failure.  Multipathing allows the
   client to switch to another storage device address which may be that
   of another storage device that is exporting the same data stripe
   unit, without having to contact the metadata server for a new layout.

   To support storage device multipathing, ffda_netaddrs contains an
   array of one or more storage device network addresses.  This array
   (data type multipath_list4) represents a list of storage device (each
   identified by a network address), with the possibility that some
   storage device will appear in the list multiple times.

   The client is free to use any of the network addresses as a
   destination to send storage device requests.  If some network
   addresses are less optimal paths to the data than others, then the
   MDS SHOULD NOT include those network addresses in ffda_netaddrs.  If
   less optimal network addresses exist to provide failover, the
   RECOMMENDED method to offer the addresses is to provide them in a
   replacement device-ID-to-device-address mapping, or a replacement
   device ID.  When a client finds no response from the storage device
   using all addresses available in ffda_netaddrs, it SHOULD send a
   GETDEVICEINFO to attempt to replace the existing device-ID-to-device-
   address mappings.  If the MDS detects that all network paths
   represented by ffda_netaddrs are unavailable, the MDS SHOULD send a

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 10]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   CB_NOTIFY_DEVICEID (if the client has indicated it wants device ID
   notifications for changed device IDs) to change the device-ID-to-
   device-address mappings to the available addresses.  If the device ID
   itself will be replaced, the MDS SHOULD recall all layouts with the
   device ID, and thus force the client to get new layouts and device ID
   mappings via LAYOUTGET and GETDEVICEINFO.

   Generally, if two network addresses appear in ffda_netaddrs, they
   will designate the same storage device.  When the storage device is
   accessed over NFSv4.1 or higher minor version the two storage device
   addresses will support the implementation of client ID or session
   trunking (the latter is RECOMMENDED) as defined in [RFC5661].  The
   two storage device addresses will share the same server owner or
   major ID of the server owner.  It is not always necessary for the two
   storage device addresses to designate the same storage device with
   trunking being used.  For example, the data could be read-only, and
   the data consist of exact replicas.

5.  Flexible File Layout Type

   The layout4 type is defined in [RFC5662] as follows:

       enum layouttype4 {
           LAYOUT4_NFSV4_1_FILES   = 1,
           LAYOUT4_OSD2_OBJECTS    = 2,
           LAYOUT4_BLOCK_VOLUME    = 3,
           LAYOUT4_FLEX_FILES      = 4
   [[RFC Editor: please modify the LAYOUT4_FLEX_FILES
     to be the layouttype assigned by IANA]]
       };

       struct layout_content4 {
           layouttype4             loc_type;
           opaque                  loc_body<>;
       };

       struct layout4 {
           offset4                 lo_offset;
           length4                 lo_length;
           layoutiomode4           lo_iomode;
           layout_content4         lo_content;
       };

   This document defines structure associated with the layouttype4 value
   LAYOUT4_FLEX_FILES.  [RFC5661] specifies the loc_body structure as an
   XDR type "opaque".  The opaque layout is uninterpreted by the generic
   pNFS client layers, but obviously must be interpreted by the Flexible

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 11]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   File Layout Type implementation.  This section defines the structure
   of this opaque value, ff_layout4.

5.1.  ff_layout4

   /// struct ff_data_server4 {
   ///     deviceid4       ffds_deviceid;
   ///     uint32_t                ffds_efficiency;
   ///     stateid4        ffds_stateid;
   ///     nfs_fh4         ffds_fhandle;
   ///     opaque_auth     ffds_auth;
   /// };
   ///

   /// struct ff_mirror4 {
   ///     ff_data_server4     ffm_data_servers<>;
   /// };
   ///

   /// struct ff_layout4 {
   ///     length4                 ffl_stripe_unit;
   ///     ff_mirror4              ffl_mirrors<>;
   /// };
   ///

   The ff_layout4 structure specifies a layout over a set of mirrored
   copies of the data file.  This mirroring protects against loss of
   data files.

   It is possible that the file is concatenated from more than one
   layout segment.  Each layout segment MAY represent different striping
   parameters, applying respectively only to the layout segment byte
   range.

   The ffl_stripe_unit field is the stripe unit size in use for the
   current layout segment.  The number of stripes is given inside each
   mirror by the number of elements in ffm_data_servers.  The only
   supported mapping scheme is sparse and is detailed in Section 6.
   Note that there is an assumption here that both the stripe unit size
   and the number of of stripes is the same across all mirrors.

   The ffl_mirrors field is the array of mirrored storage devices which
   provide the storage for the current stripe, see Figure 1.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 12]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

                      +-----------+
                      |           |
                      |           |
                      |   File    |
                      |           |
                      |           |
                      +-----+-----+
                            |
               +------------+------------+
               |                         |
          +----+-----+             +-----+----+
          | Mirror 1 |             | Mirror 2 |
          +----+-----+             +-----+----+
               |                         |
          +-----------+            +-----------+
          |+-----------+           |+-----------+
          ||+-----------+          ||+-----------+
          +||  Storage  |          +||  Storage  |
           +|  Devices  |           +|  Devices  |
            +-----------+            +-----------+

                                 Figure 1

   The ffs_mirrors field represents an array of state information for
   each mirrored copy of the file.  Each element is described by a
   ff_mirror4 type.

   ffds_deviceid provides the deviceid of the storage device holding the
   data file.

   ffds_fhandle provides the filehandle of the data file on the given
   storage device.  For tight coupling, ffds_stateid provides the
   stateid to be used by the client to access the file.  For loose
   coupling and a NFSv4 storage device, the client may use an anonymous
   stateid to perform I/O on the storage device as there is no use for
   the metadata server stateid (no control protocol).  In such a
   scenario, the server MUST set the ffds_stateid to be zero.

   For NFSv3 storage devices, ffds_auth provides the RPC credentials to
   be used by the client to access the data files.  For NFSv4.x storage
   devices, the server SHOULD use the AUTH_NONE flavor and a zero length
   opaque body to minimize the returned structure length.  The client
   MUST ignore ffds_auth in this case.  [[AI6: Even for tightly coupled
   systems, that cannot be correct!  --TH]]

   ffds_efficiency describes the metadata server's evaluation as to the
   effectiveness of each mirror.  Note that this is per layout and not
   per device as the metric may change due to perceived load,

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 13]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   availability to the metadata server, etc.  Higher values denote
   higher perceived utility.  The way the client can select the best
   mirror to access is discussed in Section 8.1.

6.  Striping via Sparse Mapping

   While other Layout Types support both dense and sparse mapping of
   logical offsets to phyisical offsets within a file (see for example
   Section 13.4 of [RFC5661]), the Flexible File Layout Type only
   supports a sparse mapping.

   With sparse mappings, the logical offset within a file (L) is also
   the physical offset on the storage device.  As detailed in
   Section 13.4.4 of [RFC5661], this results in holes across each
   storage device which does not contain the current stripe index.

   L: logical offset into the file

   W: stripe width
       W = number of elements in ffm_data_servers

   S: number of bytes in a stripe
       S = W * ffl_stripe_unit

   N: stripe number
       N = L / S

7.  Recovering from Client I/O Errors

   The pNFS client may encounter errors when directly accessing the
   storage devices.  However, it is the responsibility of the metadata
   server to recover from the I/O errors.  When the LAYOUT4_FLEX_FILES
   layout type is used, the client MUST report the I/O errors to the
   server at LAYOUTRETURN time using the ff_ioerr structure (see
   Section 9.1).

   The metadata server analyzes the error and determines the required
   recovery operations such as recovering media failures or
   reconstructing missing data files.

   The metadata server SHOULD recall any outstanding layouts to allow it
   exclusive write access to the stripes being recovered and to prevent
   other clients from hitting the same error condition.  In these cases,
   the server MUST complete recovery before handing out any new layouts
   to the affected byte ranges.

   Although it MAY be acceptable for the client to propagate a
   corresponding error to the application that initiated the I/O

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 14]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   operation and drop any unwritten data, the client SHOULD attempt to
   retry the original I/O operation by requesting a new layout using
   LAYOUTGET and retry the I/O operation(s) using the new layout, or the
   client MAY just retry the I/O operation(s) using regular NFS READ or
   WRITE operations via the metadata server.  The client SHOULD attempt
   to retrieve a new layout and retry the I/O operation using the
   storage device first and only if the error persists, retry the I/O
   operation via the metadata server.

8.  Mirroring

   The Flexible File Layout Type has a simple model in place for the
   mirroring of files.  There is no assumption that each copy of the
   mirror is stored identically on the storage devices, i.e., one device
   might employ compression or deduplication on the file.  However, the
   over the wire transfer of the file contents MUST appear identical.
   Note, this is a construct of the selected XDR representation that
   each mirrored copy of the file has the same striping pattern (see
   Figure 1).

   The metadata server is responsible for determining the number of
   mirrored copies and the location of each mirror.  While the client
   may provide a hint to how many copies it wants (see Section 12), the
   metadata server can ignore that hint and in any event, the client has
   no means to dictate neither the storage device (which also means the
   coupling and/or protocol levels to access the file) nor the location
   of said storage device.

8.1.  Selecting a Mirror

   When the metadata server grants a layout to a client, it can let the
   client know how fast it expects each mirror to be once the request
   arrives at the storage devices via the ffds_efficiency member.  While
   the algorithms to calculate that value are left to the metadata
   server implementations, factors that could contribute to that
   calculation include speed of the storage device, physical memory
   available to the device, operating system version, current load, etc.

   However, what SHOULD not be involved in that calculation is a
   perceived network distance between the client and the storage device.
   The client is better situated for making that determination based on
   past interaction with the storage device over the different available
   network intefaces bewteen the two.  I.e., the metadata server might
   not know about a transient outage between the client and storage
   device because it has no presence on the given subnet.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 15]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   As such, it is the client which decides which mirror to access for
   reading the file.  The requirements for writing to a mirrored file
   are presented below.

8.2.  Writing to Mirrors

   The client is responsible for updating all mirrored copies of the
   file that it is given in the layout.  If all but one copy is updated
   successfully and the last one provides an error, then the client
   needs to return the layout to the metadata server with an error
   indicating that the update failed to that storage device.

   The metadata server is then responsible for determining if it wants
   to remove the errant mirror from the layout, if the mirror has
   recovered from some transient error, etc.  When the client tries to
   get a new layout, the metadata server informs it of the decision by
   the contents of the layout.  The client MUST not make any assumptions
   that the contents of the previous layout will match those of the new
   one.  If it has updates that were not committed, it MUST resend those
   updates to all mirrors.

8.3.  Metadata Server Resilvering of the File

   The metadata server may elect to create a new mirror of the file at
   any time.  This might be to resilver a copy on a storage device which
   was down for servicing, to provide a copy of the file on storage with
   different storage performance characteristics, etc.  As the client
   will not be aware of the new mirror and the metadata server will not
   be aware of updates that the client is making to the file, the
   metadata server MUST recall the writable layout segment(s) that it is
   resilvering.  If the client issues a LAYOUTGET for a writable layout
   segment which is in the process of being resilvered, then the
   metadata server MUST deny that request with a NFS4ERR_LAYOUTTRYLATER.
   The client can then perform the IO through the metadata server.

9.  Flexible Files Layout Type Return

   layoutreturn_file4 is used in the LAYOUTRETURN operation to convey
   layout-type specific information to the server.  It is defined in
   [RFC5661] as follows:

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 16]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   struct layoutreturn_file4 {
           offset4         lrf_offset;
           length4         lrf_length;
           stateid4        lrf_stateid;
           /* layouttype4 specific data */
           opaque          lrf_body<>;
   };

   union layoutreturn4 switch(layoutreturn_type4 lr_returntype) {
           case LAYOUTRETURN4_FILE:
                   layoutreturn_file4      lr_layout;
           default:
                   void;
   };

   struct LAYOUTRETURN4args {
           /* CURRENT_FH: file */
           bool                    lora_reclaim;
           layoutreturn_stateid    lora_recallstateid;
           layouttype4             lora_layout_type;
           layoutiomode4           lora_iomode;
           layoutreturn4           lora_layoutreturn;
   };

   If the lora_layout_type layout type is LAYOUT4_FLEX_FILES, then the
   lrf_body opaque value is defined by the ff_layoutreturn4 type.  The
   new type allows the client to report I/O error information or layout
   usage statistics back to the metadata server as defined below.

9.1.  ff_ioerr

   /// struct ff_ioerr4 {
   ///     offset4         ffie_offset;
   ///     length4         ffie_length;
   ///     stateid4        ffie_stateid;
   ///     device_error4   ffie_errors;
   /// };
   ///

   Recall that [NFSv42] defines device_error4 as:

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 17]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

      struct device_error4 {
              deviceid4       de_deviceid;
              nfsstat4        de_status;
              nfs_opnum4      de_opnum;
      };

   The ff_ioerr4 structure is used to return error indications for data
   files that generated errors during data transfers.  These are hints
   to the metadata server that there are problems with that file.  For
   each error, ffie_errors.de_deviceid, ffie_offset, and ffie_length
   represent the storage device and byte range within the file in which
   the error occurred; ffie_errors represents the operation and type of
   error.  The use of device_error4 is described in Section 16.6 of
   [NFSv42].

9.2.  ff_iostats

   /// struct ff_iostats4 {
   ///     offset4         ffis_offset;
   ///     length4         ffis_length;
   ///     stateid4        ffis_stateid;
   ///     uint32_t        ffis_duration;
   ///     io_info4        ffis_read;
   ///     io_info4        ffis_write;
   ///     layoutupdate4   ffis_layoutupdate;
   /// };
   ///

   Recall that [NFSv42] defines io_info4 as:

      struct io_info4 {
              uint32_t        ii_count;
              uint64_t        ii_bytes;
      };

   With pNFS, the data transfers are performed directly between the pNFS
   client and the storage devices.  Therefore, the metadata server has
   no visibility to the I/O stream and cannot use any statistical
   information about client I/O to optimize data storage location.
   ff_iostats4 MAY be used by the client to report I/O statistics back
   to the metadata server upon returning the layout.  Since it is
   infeasible for the client to report every I/O that used the layout,
   the client MAY identify "hot" byte ranges for which to report I/O
   statistics.  The definition and/or configuration mechanism of what is
   considered "hot" and the size of the reported byte range is out of
   the scope of this document.  It is suggested for client
   implementation to provide reasonable default values and an optional
   run-time management interface to control these parameters.  For

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 18]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

   example, a client can define the default byte range resolution to be
   1 MB in size and the thresholds for reporting to be 1 MB/second or 10
   I/O operations per second.  For each byte range, ffis_offset and
   ffis_length represent the starting offset of the range and the range
   length in bytes.  ffis_duration represents the number of seconds the
   reported burst of I/O lasted.  ffis_read.ii_count,
   ffis_read.ii_bytes, ffis_write.ii_count, and ffis_write.ii_bytes
   represent, respectively, the number of contiguous read and write I/Os
   and the respective aggregate number of bytes transferred within the
   reported byte range.  [[AI7: Need to define whether we are using
   ffis_layoutupdate or not.  --TH]] [[AI8: Actually, ffis_duration
   might be what we plop down in there.  In any event, ffis_duration
   needs some work.  --TH]]

9.3.  ff_layoutreturn

   /// struct ff_layoutreturn {
   ///     ff_ioerr4       fflr_ioerr_report<>;
   ///     ff_iostats4     fflr_iostats_report<>;
   /// };
   ///

   When data file I/O operations fail, fflr_ioerr_report<> is used to
   report these errors to the metadata server as an array of elements of
   type ff_ioerr4.  Each element in the array represents an error that
   occurred on the data file identified by ffie_errors.de_deviceid.  If
   no errors are to be reported, the size of the fflr_ioerr_report<>
   array is set to zero.  The client MAY also use fflr_iostats_report<>
   to report a list of I/O statistics as an array of elements of type
   ff_iostats4.  Each element in the array represents statistics for a
   particular byte range.  Byte ranges are not guaranteed to be disjoint
   and MAY repeat or intersect.

10.  Flexible Files Layout Type LAYOUTERROR

   If the client is using NFSv4.2 to communicate with the metadata
   server, then instead of waiting for a LAYOUTRETURN to send error
   information to the metadata server (see Section 9.1), it can use
   LAYOUTERROR (see Section 16.6 of [NFSv42]) to communicate that
   information.

11.  Flexible Files Layout Type LAYOUTSTATS

   If the client is using NFSv4.2 to communicate with the metadata
   server, then instead of waiting for a LAYOUTRETURN to send I/O
   statistics to the metadata server (see Section 9.2), it can use
   LAYOUTSTATS (see Section 16.7 of [NFSv42]) to communicate that
   information.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 19]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

12.  Flexible File Layout Type Creation Hint

   The layouthint4 type is defined in the [RFC5661] as follows:

   struct layouthint4 {
       layouttype4           loh_type;
       opaque                loh_body<>;
   };

   The layouthint4 structure is used by the client to pass a hint about
   the type of layout it would like created for a particular file.  If
   the loh_type layout type is LAYOUT4_FLEX_FILES, then the loh_body
   opaque value is defined by the ff_layouthint4 type.

12.1.  ff_layouthint4

   /// union ff_mirrors_hint switch (bool ffmc_valid) {
   ///     case TRUE:
   ///         uint32_t    ffmc_mirrors;
   ///     case FALSE:
   ///         void;
   /// };
   ///

   /// struct ff_layouthint4 {
   ///     ff_mirrors_hint fflh_mirrors_hint;
   /// };
   ///

   This type conveys hints for the desired data map.  All parameters are
   optional so the client can give values for only the parameter it
   cares about.

13.  Recalling Layouts

   The Flexible File Layout Type metadata server should recall
   outstanding layouts in the following cases:

   o  When the file's security policy changes, i.e., Access Control
      Lists (ACLs) or permission mode bits are set.

   o  When the file's layout changes, rendering outstanding layouts
      invalid.

   o  When there are sharing conflicts.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 20]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

13.1.  CB_RECALL_ANY

   The metadata server can use the CB_RECALL_ANY callback operation to
   notify the client to return some or all of its layouts.  The
   [RFC5661] defines the following types:

   const RCA4_TYPE_MASK_FF_LAYOUT_MIN     = -2;
   const RCA4_TYPE_MASK_FF_LAYOUT_MAX     = -1;
   [[RFC Editor: please insert assigned constants]]

   struct  CB_RECALL_ANY4args      {
       uint32_t        craa_layouts_to_keep;
       bitmap4         craa_type_mask;
   };

   Typically, CB_RECALL_ANY will be used to recall client state when the
   server needs to reclaim resources.  The craa_type_mask bitmap
   specifies the type of resources that are recalled and the
   craa_layouts_to_keep value specifies how many of the recalled
   Flexible File Layouts the client is allowed to keep.  The Flexible
   File Layout Type mask flags are defined as follows:

   /// enum ff_cb_recall_any_mask {
   ///     FF_RCA4_TYPE_MASK_READ = -2,
   ///     FF_RCA4_TYPE_MASK_RW   = -1
   [[RFC Editor: please insert assigned constants]]
   /// };
   ///

   They represent the iomode of the recalled layouts.  In response, the
   client SHOULD return layouts of the recalled iomode that it needs the
   least, keeping at most craa_layouts_to_keep Flexible File Layouts.

   The PNFS_FF_RCA4_TYPE_MASK_READ flag notifies the client to return
   layouts of iomode LAYOUTIOMODE4_READ.  Similarly, the
   PNFS_FF_RCA4_TYPE_MASK_RW flag notifies the client to return layouts
   of iomode LAYOUTIOMODE4_RW.  When both mask flags are set, the client
   is notified to return layouts of either iomode.

14.  Client Fencing

   In cases where clients are uncommunicative and their lease has
   expired or when clients fail to return recalled layouts within a
   lease period, at the least the server MAY revoke client layouts and/
   or device address mappings and reassign these resources to other
   clients (see "Recalling a Layout" in [RFC5661]).  To avoid data
   corruption, the metadata server MUST fence off the revoked clients
   from the respective data files as described in Section 2.2.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 21]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

15.  Security Considerations

   The pNFS extension partitions the NFSv4 file system protocol into two
   parts, the control path and the data path (storage protocol).  The
   control path contains all the new operations described by this
   extension; all existing NFSv4 security mechanisms and features apply
   to the control path.  The combination of components in a pNFS system
   is required to preserve the security properties of NFSv4 with respect
   to an entity accessing data via a client, including security
   countermeasures to defend against threats that NFSv4 provides
   defenses for in environments where these threats are considered
   significant.

   The metadata server enforces the file access-control policy at
   LAYOUTGET time.  The client should use suitable authorization
   credentials for getting the layout for the requested iomode (READ or
   RW) and the server verifies the permissions and ACL for these
   credentials, possibly returning NFS4ERR_ACCESS if the client is not
   allowed the requested iomode.  If the LAYOUTGET operation succeeds
   the client receives, as part of the layout, a set of credentials
   allowing it I/O access to the specified data files corresponding to
   the requested iomode.  When the client acts on I/O operations on
   behalf of its local users, it MUST authenticate and authorize the
   user by issuing respective OPEN and ACCESS calls to the metadata
   server, similar to having NFSv4 data delegations.  If access is
   allowed, the client uses the corresponding (READ or RW) credentials
   to perform the I/O operations at the data files storage devices.
   When the metadata server receives a request to change a file's
   permissions or ACL, it SHOULD recall all layouts for that file and it
   MUST fence off the clients holding outstanding layouts for the
   respective file by implicitly invalidating the outstanding
   credentials on all data files comprising before committing to the new
   permissions and ACL.  Doing this will ensure that clients re-
   authorize their layouts according to the modified permissions and ACL
   by requesting new layouts.  Recalling the layouts in this case is
   courtesy of the server intended to prevent clients from getting an
   error on I/Os done after the client was fenced off.

16.  IANA Considerations

   As described in [RFC5661], new layout type numbers have been assigned
   by IANA.  This document defines the protocol associated with the
   existing layout type number, LAYOUT4_FLEX_FILES.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 22]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

17.  References

17.1.  Normative References

   [LEGAL]    IETF Trust, "Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents",
              November 2008, <http://trustee.ietf.org/docs/
              IETF-Trust-License-Policy.pdf>.

   [NFSv42]   Haynes, T., "NFS Version 4 Minor Version 2", draft-ietf-
              nfsv4-minorversion2-22 (Work In Progress), April 2014.

   [RFC1813]  IETF, "NFS Version 3 Protocol Specification", RFC 1813,
              June 1995.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [RFC3530]  Shepler, S., Callaghan, B., Robinson, D., Thurlow, R.,
              Beame, C., Eisler, M., and D. Noveck, "Network File System
              (NFS) version 4 Protocol", RFC 3530, April 2003.

   [RFC4506]  Eisler, M., "XDR: External Data Representation Standard",
              STD 67, RFC 4506, May 2006.

   [RFC5661]  Shepler, S., Ed., Eisler, M., Ed., and D. Noveck, Ed.,
              "Network File System (NFS) Version 4 Minor Version 1
              Protocol", RFC 5661, January 2010.

   [RFC5662]  Shepler, S., Ed., Eisler, M., Ed., and D. Noveck, Ed.,
              "Network File System (NFS) Version 4 Minor Version 1
              External Data Representation Standard (XDR) Description",
              RFC 5662, January 2010.

   [RFC5664]  Halevy, B., Ed., Welch, B., Ed., and J. Zelenka, Ed.,
              "Object-Based Parallel NFS (pNFS) Operations", RFC 5664,
              January 2010.

   [pNFSLayouts]
              Haynes, T., "Considerations for a New pNFS Layout Type",
              draft-haynes-nfsv4-layout-types-02 (Work In Progress),
              April 2014.

17.2.  Informative References

   [ANSI400-2004]
              Weber, R., Ed., "ANSI INCITS 400-2004, Information
              Technology - SCSI Object-Based Storage Device Commands
              (OSD)", December 2004.

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 23]
Internet-Draft              Flex File Layout              September 2014

Appendix A.  Acknowledgments

   Those who provided miscellaneous comments to early drafts of this
   document include: Matt W. Benjamin, Adam Emerson, Tom Haynes, J.
   Bruce Fields, and Lev Solomonov.

Appendix B.  RFC Editor Notes

   [RFC Editor: please remove this section prior to publishing this
   document as an RFC]

   [RFC Editor: prior to publishing this document as an RFC, please
   replace all occurrences of RFCTBD10 with RFCxxxx where xxxx is the
   RFC number of this document]

Authors' Addresses

   Benny Halevy
   Primary Data, Inc.

   Email: bhalevy@primarydata.com
   URI:   http://www.primarydata.com

   Thomas Haynes
   Primary Data, Inc.
   4300 El Camino Real Ste 100
   Los Altos, CA  94022
   USA

   Phone: +1 408 215 1519
   Email: thomas.haynes@primarydata.com

Halevy & Haynes           Expires March 8, 2015                [Page 24]