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-rw-r--r--documentation/external-reshape-design.txt280
-rw-r--r--documentation/mdadm.conf-example65
-rw-r--r--documentation/mdmon-design.txt146
3 files changed, 491 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/documentation/external-reshape-design.txt b/documentation/external-reshape-design.txt
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+External Reshape
+
+1 Problem statement
+
+External (third-party metadata) reshape differs from native-metadata
+reshape in three key ways:
+
+1.1 Format specific constraints
+
+In the native case reshape is limited by what is implemented in the
+generic reshape routine (Grow_reshape()) and what is supported by the
+kernel. There are exceptional cases where Grow_reshape() may block
+operations when it knows that the kernel implementation is broken, but
+otherwise the kernel is relied upon to be the final arbiter of what
+reshape operations are supported.
+
+In the external case the kernel, and the generic checks in
+Grow_reshape(), become the super-set of what reshapes are possible. The
+metadata format may not support, or have yet to implement a given
+reshape type. The implication for Grow_reshape() is that it must query
+the metadata handler and effect changes in the metadata before the new
+geometry is posted to the kernel. The ->reshape_super method allows
+Grow_reshape() to validate the requested operation and post the metadata
+update.
+
+1.2 Scope of reshape
+
+Native metadata reshape is always performed at the array scope (no
+metadata relationship with sibling arrays on the same disks). External
+reshape, depending on the format, may not allow the number of member
+disks to be changed in a subarray unless the change is simultaneously
+applied to all subarrays in the container. For example the imsm format
+requires all member disks to be a member of all subarrays, so a 4-disk
+raid5 in a container that also houses a 4-disk raid10 array could not be
+reshaped to 5 disks as the imsm format does not support a 5-disk raid10
+representation. This requires the ->reshape_super method to check the
+contents of the array and ask the user to run the reshape at container
+scope (if all subarrays are agreeable to the change), or report an
+error in the case where one subarray cannot support the change.
+
+1.3 Monitoring / checkpointing
+
+Reshape, unlike rebuild/resync, requires strict checkpointing to survive
+interrupted reshape operations. For example when expanding a raid5
+array the first few stripes of the array will be overwritten in a
+destructive manner. When restarting the reshape process we need to know
+the exact location of the last successfully written stripe, and we need
+to restore the data in any partially overwritten stripe. Native
+metadata stores this backup data in the unused portion of spares that
+are being promoted to array members, or in an external backup file
+(located on a non-involved block device).
+
+The kernel is in charge of recording checkpoints of reshape progress,
+but mdadm is delegated the task of managing the backup space which
+involves:
+1/ Identifying what data will be overwritten in the next unit of reshape
+ operation
+2/ Suspending access to that region so that a snapshot of the data can
+ be transferred to the backup space.
+3/ Allowing the kernel to reshape the saved region and setting the
+ boundary for the next backup.
+
+In the external reshape case we want to preserve this mdadm
+'reshape-manager' arrangement, but have a third actor, mdmon, to
+consider. It is tempting to give the role of managing reshape to mdmon,
+but that is counter to its role as a monitor, and conflicts with the
+existing capabilities and role of mdadm to manage the progress of
+reshape. For clarity the external reshape implementation maintains the
+role of mdmon as a (mostly) passive recorder of raid events, and mdadm
+treats it as it would the kernel in the native reshape case (modulo
+needing to send explicit metadata update messages and checking that
+mdmon took the expected action).
+
+External reshape can use the generic md backup file as a fallback, but in the
+optimal/firmware-compatible case the reshape-manager will use the metadata
+specific areas for managing reshape. The implementation also needs to spawn a
+reshape-manager per subarray when the reshape is being carried out at the
+container level. For these two reasons the ->manage_reshape() method is
+introduced. This method in addition to base tasks mentioned above:
+1/ Processed each subarray one at a time in series - where appropriate.
+2/ Uses either generic routines in Grow.c for md-style backup file
+ support, or uses the metadata-format specific location for storing
+ recovery data.
+This aims to avoid a "midlayer mistake"[1] and lets the metadata handler
+optionally take advantage of generic infrastructure in Grow.c
+
+2 Details for specific reshape requests
+
+There are quite a few moving pieces spread out across md, mdadm, and mdmon for
+the support of external reshape, and there are several different types of
+reshape that need to be comprehended by the implementation. A rundown of
+these details follows.
+
+2.0 General provisions:
+
+Obtain an exclusive open on the container to make sure we are not
+running concurrently with a Create() event.
+
+2.1 Freezing sync_action
+
+ Before making any attempt at a reshape we 'freeze' every array in
+ the container to ensure no spare assignment or recovery happens.
+ This involves writing 'frozen' to sync_action and changing the '/'
+ after 'external:' in metadata_version to a '-'. mdmon knows that
+ this means not to perform any management.
+
+ Before doing this we check that all sync_actions are 'idle', which
+ is racy but still useful.
+ Afterwards we check that all member arrays have no spares
+ or partial spares (recovery_start != 'none') which would indicate a
+ race. If they do, we unfreeze again.
+
+ Once this completes we know all the arrays are stable. They may
+ still have failed devices as devices can fail at any time. However
+ we treat those like failures that happen during the reshape.
+
+2.2 Reshape size
+
+ 1/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): checks if mdmon is running and optionally
+ initializes st->update_tail
+ 2/ mdadm::Grow_reshape() calls ->reshape_super() to check that the size change
+ is allowed (being performed at subarray scope / enough room) prepares a
+ metadata update
+ 3/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): flushes the metadata update (via
+ flush_metadata_update(), or ->sync_metadata())
+ 4/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): post the new size to the kernel
+
+
+2.3 Reshape level (simple-takeover)
+
+"simple-takeover" implies the level change can be satisfied without touching
+sync_action
+
+ 1/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): checks if mdmon is running and optionally
+ initializes st->update_tail
+ 2/ mdadm::Grow_reshape() calls ->reshape_super() to check that the level change
+ is allowed (being performed at subarray scope) prepares a
+ metadata update
+ 2a/ raid10 --> raid0: degrade all mirror legs prior to calling
+ ->reshape_super
+ 3/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): flushes the metadata update (via
+ flush_metadata_update(), or ->sync_metadata())
+ 4/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): post the new level to the kernel
+
+2.4 Reshape chunk, layout
+
+2.5 Reshape raid disks (grow)
+
+ 1/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): unconditionally initializes st->update_tail
+ because only redundant raid levels can modify the number of raid disks
+ 2/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): calls ->reshape_super() to check that the level
+ change is allowed (being performed at proper scope / permissible
+ geometry / proper spares available in the container), chooses
+ the spares to use, and prepares a metadata update.
+ 3/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): Converts each subarray in the container to the
+ raid level that can perform the reshape and starts mdmon.
+ 4/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): Pushes the update to mdmon.
+ 5/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): uses container_content to find details of
+ the spares and passes them to the kernel.
+ 6/ mdadm::Grow_reshape(): gives raid_disks update to the kernel,
+ sets sync_max, sync_min, suspend_lo, suspend_hi all to zero,
+ and starts the reshape by writing 'reshape' to sync_action.
+ 7/ mdmon::monitor notices the sync_action change and tells
+ managemon to check for new devices. managemon notices the new
+ devices, opens relevant sysfs file, and passes them all to
+ monitor.
+ 8/ mdadm::Grow_reshape() calls ->manage_reshape to oversee the
+ rest of the reshape.
+
+ 9/ mdadm::<format>->manage_reshape(): saves data that will be overwritten by
+ the kernel to either the backup file or the metadata specific location,
+ advances sync_max, waits for reshape, ping mdmon, repeat.
+ Meanwhile mdmon::read_and_act(): records checkpoints.
+ Specifically.
+
+ 9a/ if the 'next' stripe to be reshaped will over-write
+ itself during reshape then:
+ 9a.1/ increase suspend_hi to cover a suitable number of
+ stripes.
+ 9a.2/ backup those stripes safely.
+ 9a.3/ advance sync_max to allow those stripes to be backed up
+ 9a.4/ when sync_completed indicates that those stripes have
+ been reshaped, manage_reshape must ping_manager
+ 9a.5/ when mdmon notices that sync_completed has been updated,
+ it records the new checkpoint in the metadata
+ 9a.6/ after the ping_manager, manage_reshape will increase
+ suspend_lo to allow access to those stripes again
+
+ 9b/ if the 'next' stripe to be reshaped will over-write unused
+ space during reshape then we apply same process as above,
+ except that there is no need to back anything up.
+ Note that we *do* need to keep suspend_hi progressing as
+ it is not safe to write to the area-under-reshape. For
+ kernel-managed-metadata this protection is provided by
+ ->reshape_safe, but that does not protect us in the case
+ of user-space-managed-metadata.
+
+ 10/ mdadm::<format>->manage_reshape(): Once reshape completes changes the raid
+ level back to the nominal raid level (if necessary)
+
+ FIXME: native metadata does not have the capability to record the original
+ raid level in reshape-restart case because the kernel always records current
+ raid level to the metadata, whereas external metadata can masquerade at an
+ alternate level based on the reshape state.
+
+2.6 Reshape raid disks (shrink)
+
+3 Interaction with metadata handle.
+
+ The following calls are made into the metadata handler to assist
+ with initiating and monitoring a 'reshape'.
+
+ 1/ ->reshape_super is called quite early (after only minimial
+ checks) to make sure that the metadata can record the new shape
+ and any necessary transitions. It may be passed a 'container'
+ or an individual array within a container, and it should notice
+ the difference and act accordingly.
+ When a reshape is requested against a container it is expected
+ that it should be applied to every array in the container,
+ however it is up to the metadata handler to determine final
+ policy.
+
+ If the reshape is supportable, the internal copy of the metadata
+ should be updated, and a metadata update suitable for sending
+ to mdmon should be queued.
+
+ If the reshape will involve converting spares into array members,
+ this must be recorded in the metadata too.
+
+ 2/ ->container_content will be called to find out the new state
+ of all the array, or all arrays in the container. Any newly
+ added devices (with state==0 and raid_disk >= 0) will be added
+ to the array as spares with the relevant slot number.
+
+ It is likely that the info returned by ->container_content will
+ have ->reshape_active set, ->reshape_progress set to e.g. 0, and
+ new_* set appropriately. mdadm will use this information to
+ cause the correct reshape to start at an appropriate time.
+
+ 3/ ->set_array_state will be called by mdmon when reshape has
+ started and again periodically as it progresses. This should
+ record the ->last_checkpoint as the point where reshape has
+ progressed to. When the reshape finished this will be called
+ again and it should notice that ->curr_action is no longer
+ 'reshape' and so should record that the reshape has finished
+ providing 'last_checkpoint' has progressed suitably.
+
+ 4/ ->manage_reshape will be called once the reshape has been set
+ up in the kernel but before sync_max has been moved from 0, so
+ no actual reshape will have happened.
+
+ ->manage_reshape should call progress_reshape() to allow the
+ reshape to progress, and should back-up any data as indicated
+ by the return value. See the documentation of that function
+ for more details.
+ ->manage_reshape will be called multiple times when a
+ container is being reshaped, once for each member array in
+ the container.
+
+
+ The progress of the metadata is as follows:
+ 1/ mdadm sends a metadata update to mdmon which marks the array
+ as undergoing a reshape. This is set up by
+ ->reshape_super and applied by ->process_update
+ For container-wide reshape, this happens once for the whole
+ container.
+ 2/ mdmon notices progress via the sysfs files and calls
+ ->set_array_state to update the state periodically
+ For container-wide reshape, this happens repeatedly for
+ one array, then repeatedly for the next, etc.
+ 3/ mdmon notices when reshape has finished and call
+ ->set_array_state to record the the reshape is complete.
+ For container-wide reshape, this happens once for each
+ member array.
+
+
+
+...
+
+[1]: Linux kernel design patterns - part 3, Neil Brown https://lwn.net/Articles/336262/
diff --git a/documentation/mdadm.conf-example b/documentation/mdadm.conf-example
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+# mdadm configuration file
+#
+# mdadm will function properly without the use of a configuration file,
+# but this file is useful for keeping track of arrays and member disks.
+# In general, a mdadm.conf file is created, and updated, after arrays
+# are created. This is the opposite behavior of /etc/raidtab which is
+# created prior to array construction.
+#
+#
+# the config file takes two types of lines:
+#
+# DEVICE lines specify a list of devices of where to look for
+# potential member disks
+#
+# ARRAY lines specify information about how to identify arrays so
+# so that they can be activated
+#
+# You can have more than one device line and use wild cards. The first
+# example includes SCSI the first partition of SCSI disks /dev/sdb,
+# /dev/sdc, /dev/sdd, /dev/sdj, /dev/sdk, and /dev/sdl. The second
+# line looks for array slices on IDE disks.
+#
+#DEVICE /dev/sd[bcdjkl]1
+#DEVICE /dev/hda1 /dev/hdb1
+#
+# If you mount devfs on /dev, then a suitable way to list all devices is:
+#DEVICE /dev/discs/*/*
+#
+#
+# The AUTO line can control which arrays get assembled by auto-assembly,
+# meaing either "mdadm -As" when there are no 'ARRAY' lines in this file,
+# or "mdadm --incremental" when the array found is not listed in this file.
+# By default, all arrays that are found are assembled.
+# If you want to ignore all DDF arrays (maybe they are managed by dmraid),
+# and only assemble 1.x arrays if which are marked for 'this' homehost,
+# but assemble all others, then use
+#AUTO -ddf homehost -1.x +all
+#
+# ARRAY lines specify an array to assemble and a method of identification.
+# Arrays can currently be identified by using a UUID, superblock minor number,
+# or a listing of devices.
+#
+# super-minor is usually the minor number of the metadevice
+# UUID is the Universally Unique Identifier for the array
+# Each can be obtained using
+#
+# mdadm -D <md>
+#
+#ARRAY /dev/md0 UUID=3aaa0122:29827cfa:5331ad66:ca767371
+#ARRAY /dev/md1 super-minor=1
+#ARRAY /dev/md2 devices=/dev/hda1,/dev/hdb1
+#
+# ARRAY lines can also specify a "spare-group" for each array. mdadm --monitor
+# will then move a spare between arrays in a spare-group if one array has a failed
+# drive but no spare
+#ARRAY /dev/md4 uuid=b23f3c6d:aec43a9f:fd65db85:369432df spare-group=group1
+#ARRAY /dev/md5 uuid=19464854:03f71b1b:e0df2edd:246cc977 spare-group=group1
+#
+# When used in --follow (aka --monitor) mode, mdadm needs a
+# mail address and/or a program. This can be given with "mailaddr"
+# and "program" lines to that monitoring can be started using
+# mdadm --follow --scan & echo $! > /run/mdadm/mon.pid
+# If the lines are not found, mdadm will exit quietly
+#MAILADDR root@mydomain.tld
+#PROGRAM /usr/sbin/handle-mdadm-events
diff --git a/documentation/mdmon-design.txt b/documentation/mdmon-design.txt
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+
+When managing a RAID1 array which uses metadata other than the
+"native" metadata understood by the kernel, mdadm makes use of a
+partner program named 'mdmon' to manage some aspects of updating
+that metadata and synchronising the metadata with the array state.
+
+This document provides some details on how mdmon works.
+
+Containers
+----------
+
+As background: mdadm makes a distinction between an 'array' and a
+'container'. Other sources sometimes use the term 'volume' or
+'device' for an 'array', and may use the term 'array' for a
+'container'.
+
+For our purposes:
+ - a 'container' is a collection of devices which are described by a
+ single set of metadata. The metadata may be stored equally
+ on all devices, or different devices may have quite different
+ subsets of the total metadata. But there is conceptually one set
+ of metadata that unifies the devices.
+
+ - an 'array' is a set of datablock from various devices which
+ together are used to present the abstraction of a single linear
+ sequence of block, which may provide data redundancy or enhanced
+ performance.
+
+So a container has some metadata and provides a number of arrays which
+are described by that metadata.
+
+Sometimes this model doesn't work perfectly. For example, global
+spares may have their own metadata which is quite different from the
+metadata from any device that participates in one or more arrays.
+Such a global spare might still need to belong to some container so
+that it is available to be used should a failure arise. In that case
+we consider the 'metadata' to be the union of the metadata on the
+active devices which describes the arrays, and the metadata on the
+global spares which only describes the spares. In this case different
+devices in the one container will have quite different metadata.
+
+
+Purpose
+-------
+
+The main purpose of mdmon is to update the metadata in response to
+changes to the array which need to be reflected in the metadata before
+futures writes to the array can safely be performed.
+These include:
+ - transitions from 'clean' to 'dirty'.
+ - recording the devices have failed.
+ - recording the progress of a 'reshape'
+
+This requires mdmon to be running at any time that the array is
+writable (a read-only array does not require mdmon to be running).
+
+Because mdmon must be able to process these metadata updates at any
+time, it must (when running) have exclusive write access to the
+metadata. Any other changes (e.g. reconfiguration of the array) must
+go through mdmon.
+
+A secondary role for mdmon is to activate spares when a device fails.
+This role is much less time-critical than the other metadata updates,
+so it could be performed by a separate process, possibly
+"mdadm --monitor" which has a related role of moving devices between
+arrays. A main reason for including this functionality in mdmon is
+that in the native-metadata case this function is handled in the
+kernel, and mdmon's reason for existence to provide functionality
+which is otherwise handled by the kernel.
+
+
+Design overview
+---------------
+
+mdmon is structured as two threads with a common address space and
+common data structures. These threads are know as the 'monitor' and
+the 'manager'.
+
+The 'monitor' has the primary role of monitoring the array for
+important state changes and updating the metadata accordingly. As
+writes to the array can be blocked until 'monitor' completes and
+acknowledges the update, it much be very careful not to block itself.
+In particular it must not block waiting for any write to complete else
+it could deadlock. This means that it must not allocate memory as
+doing this can require dirty memory to be written out and if the
+system choose to write to the array that mdmon is monitoring, the
+memory allocation could deadlock.
+
+So 'monitor' must never allocate memory and must limit the number of
+other system call it performs. It may:
+ - use select (or poll) to wait for activity on a file descriptor
+ - read from a sysfs file descriptor
+ - write to a sysfs file descriptor
+ - write the metadata out to the block devices using O_DIRECT
+ - send a signal (kill) to the manager thread
+
+It must not e.g. open files or do anything similar that might allocate
+resources.
+
+The 'manager' thread does everything else that is needed. If any
+files are to be opened (e.g. because a device has been added to the
+array), the manager does that. If any memory needs to be allocated
+(e.g. to hold data about a new array as can happen when one set of
+metadata describes several arrays), the manager performs that
+allocation.
+
+The 'manager' is also responsible for communicating with mdadm and
+assigning spares to replace failed devices.
+
+
+Handling metadata updates
+-------------------------
+
+There are a number of cases in which mdadm needs to update the
+metdata which mdmon is managing. These include:
+ - creating a new array in an active container
+ - adding a device to a container
+ - reconfiguring an array
+etc.
+
+To complete these updates, mdadm must send a message to mdmon which
+will merge the update into the metadata as it is at that moment.
+
+To achieve this, mdmon creates a Unix Domain Socket which the manager
+thread listens on. mdadm sends a message over this socket. The
+manager thread examines the message to see if it will require
+allocating any memory and allocates it. This is done in the
+'prepare_update' metadata method.
+
+The update message is then queued for handling by the monitor thread
+which it will do when convenient. The monitor thread calls
+->process_update which should atomically make the required changes to
+the metadata, making use of the pre-allocate memory as required. Any
+memory the is no-longer needed can be placed back in the request and
+the manager thread will free it.
+
+The exact format of a metadata update is up to the implementer of the
+metadata handlers. It will simply describe a change that needs to be
+made. It will sometimes contain fragments of the metadata to be
+copied in to place. However the ->process_update routine must make
+sure not to over-write any field that the monitor thread might have
+updated, such as a 'device failed' or 'array is dirty' state.
+
+When the monitor thread has completed the update and written it to the
+devices, an acknowledgement message is sent back over the socket so
+that mdadm knows it is complete.