Allow the use of NFS files as virtual block devices

Registered by Ben Swartzlander

This blueprint creates a Cinder extension to allow guest volumes to be stored on NFS shares. Each volume maps to a single file on the NFS. Cinder config file will point to separate file which contains the list of the shares. List of shares can be updated at run time. Driver will reread the list of shares if the file is modified. Driver will load balance file creation, choosing the share with the most available space to create the new volume file. Using NFS as a storage for volume files gives users additional flexibility in selection a data storage solution. NFS servers can be built into a highly scalable and reliable storage pool. This driver will support generic Linux NFS server implementation.

Proposed use-case:
1. user sends create-volume command
2. cinder-volume component selects the NFS with the most free space
3. cinder-volume component mounts selected NFS share and creates file for the volume (file name should match the volume name or index).
4. user sends attach-volume request
5. nova compute volume driver mounts NFS share and attaches given file to the VM as a disc storage.
New volume driver is added to Cinder and nova-compute volume driver is modified:
1. new volume driver for cinder is added to support NFS Linux server.
2. nova-compute volume driver is updated to dynamically mount appropriate NFS shares on the compute host.

Blueprint information

Status:
Complete
Approver:
None
Priority:
Low
Drafter:
Ben Swartzlander
Direction:
Needs approval
Assignee:
Ben Swartzlander
Definition:
New
Series goal:
Accepted for folsom
Implementation:
Implemented
Milestone target:
milestone icon 2012.2
Started by
Thierry Carrez
Completed by
John Griffith

Related branches

Sprints

Whiteboard

Gerrit topic: https://review.openstack.org/#q,topic:bp/nfs-files-as-virtual-block-devices,n,z

Addressed by: https://review.openstack.org/11306
    Add driver for using files on a generic NFS server as virtual block devices Add NetApp-specific NFS virtual block driver

Gerrit topic: https://review.openstack.org/#q,topic:bp/netapp-volume-driver,n,z

Addressed by: https://review.openstack.org/19107
    NetApp direct to filer drivers for iscsi and nfs for 7 mode and cluster systems. The drivers are designed to communicate with the NetApp storage controllers directly without requiring any intermediate management softwares in place using the NetApp api. He

Addressed by: https://review.openstack.org/19189
    NetApp direct to filer drivers for iscsi and nfs for 7 mode and cluster systems. The drivers are designed to communicate with the NetApp storage controllers directly without requiring any intermediate management softwares in place using the NetApp api. He

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Work Items

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