Re: [Xen-devel] Solution for problems with HyperSCSI and vbds ?

[Ian Pratt <Ian.Pratt@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> >[Ian:]The main thing would be turning the VFR into more of an L2 switch
> >than a router, with each domain having its own MAC[*]. We could then
> >add a rule to grant a domain TX permission for a particular 802
> >protocol number. HyperSCSI presumably has some high-level
> >server-based authentication and privilege verification? If so, it
> >should be pretty straightforward. 
> 
> This is much better, though more complicated too ;-)
> 
> However, I wouldn't do this based on protocols or routing HyperSCSI
> ether packets or the need to use HyperSCSI kernel modules in 
> domains > 0 (Perhaps too complicated and only a special solution for this
> problem).

I still like my proposal ;-)

It's pretty straight forward to implement, is relatively clean,
and will have good performance. 

However, if you're exporting a single disk from the HyperSCSI
server its not much help.

> The virtual block device driver mapps this to /dev/sda and forwards
> the request to Xen (perhaps it also tags this request as a request
> to a "special device" before forwarding the request to Xen).
> Xen realizes that there is no physical device connected to /dev/sda
> (or registered with Xen ? Maybe it can then also recognize that
> the request was marked as targeting a "special device").
> Because of that condition, it forwards this block device request
> to DOM0 now in which a "request handler" kernel module will listen for 
> block device requests which may be forwarded to DOM0 from 
> Xen to be handled in DOM0 (It will need to register a callback 
> function with Xen in order to do so).

I think your best solution is not to use Xen vbd's at all.  If
you don't like NFS, how about having domains >0 using "enhanced
network block devices" which talk to a simple server running in
domain0. The storage for the nbd server can be files, partitions
or logical volumes on /dev/sda.

This should require writing no code, and will give pretty good
performance. It gives good control over storage allocations etc.

http://www.it.uc3m.es/~ptb/nbd/

[It appears to work as a rootfs, but I haven't verified]

Best,
Ian


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