StorageUnificationTool

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Revision as of 01:08, 16 August 2007

description

A easy-to-use graphical tool that can manage storage devices and pools, and file systems
Includes a wizard (like Roxio or Toast) that can start different applications depending on what is to be accomplished
Make it easy to create, manage, and back up very large data storage pools
Make it easy to export and secure data
Provide a framework for thinking about and documenting data management

use cases

Handles storage devices

system and device health
automatic and manual setting of I/O parameters
installation, configuration, transport setup
device error reporting and analysis

Handles storage pools

administers RAID volumes and LVs
set up hot remote pools
identify hot swap spare LUNs

Handles file systems

creating
mounting
tuning
resizing
deleting

Handles NFS administration

client: automated server discovery,
client: autofs configuration
server: automatic export of file systems

Handles data management

set up automated storage hierarchies
one-time or periodic data replication
one-time or periodic backup
restore and disaster recovery

other examples

star, cpio, rsync
Smit on AIX
zpool and zfs on Solaris

requirements

       <outline text="Need a good name for it (branding!)"/>
       <outline text="Must tie together the disparate, separately maintained, and undocumented masses of storage utilities that exist on Linux"/>
       <outline text="And provide new tools that don't already exist"/>
       <outline text="Emulates the nice model provided by zpool/zfs"/>
       <outline text="Management">
         <outline text="Do we want some kind of permanent storage management (disk/CF/optical/tape)? Device maintenance? Ways to drive smartctl, hdparm, or other testing?"/>
         <outline text="Do we want some kind of storage pool management (manage LVs, manage pools [for fs's that understand them]?"/>
         <outline text="Do we want some kind of file system management (create, check, remove, expand)?  Managing /etc/fstab, /etc/exports, and the automounters?  Disk usage analyzer (boabab)?"/>
         <outline text="Do we want some kind of data management (replication/migration/backup/mirroring)?"/>
       </outline>

major architecture

       <outline text="Need to look at tools for constructing nice GUIs on Linux">
         <outline text="Ask on #nc?"/>
         <outline text="Some web searching"/>
         <outline text="Look at Python web site: again, Python might be best to prototype">
           <outline text="Python seems to have plenty of options"/>
         </outline>
       </outline>
       <outline text="Let's start small">
         <outline text="Add a GUI to fdisk, mdadm"/>
         <outline text="Try constructing a GUI for managing fstab or exports"/>
         <outline text="Build a GUI for starting other applications"/>
       </outline>

operation

random ideas

       <outline text="Start simple -- admin /etc/fstab or run smartctl"/>
       <outline text="Need place to collect ideas publicly">
         <outline text="calpg wiki"/>
         <outline text="external wiki"/>
         <outline text="irc -- use #linuxfs, or something else"/>
         <outline text="mailing list?"/>
       </outline>
       <outline text="Python!">
         <outline text="Found some interesting pythings that could help">
           <outline text="module that can do stuff with devices"/>
           <outline text="pyparted to deal with partition management"/>
           <outline text="pylibacl for... well, you know"/>
         </outline>
       </outline>

free-form notes

Would be nice to have some kind of wizard-like user space tool that would allow virtualized data management on Linux.

Need to scope the requirements.

Do we want some kind of permanent storage management (disk/CF/optical)? Device maintenance? Ways to drive SMART, or other testing?

Do we want some kind of storage pool management (manage LVs, manage pools [for fs's that understand them])?

Do we want some kind of file system managment (create, check, remove, expand)? Managing /etc/fstab, /etc/exports, and the automounters? boabab (disk usage analyzer)

Do we want some kind of data management (replicate/migrate/backup/mirror)?

So I think we can start small. Take a common TUI utility or two (fdisk or mdadm) and try constructing a GUI around it.

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 == other examples ==
-        <outline text="star, cpio, rsync"/>
+* star, cpio, rsync
-        <outline text="Smit on AIX"/>
+* Smit on AIX
-        <outline text="zpool and zfs on Solaris"/>
+* zpool and zfs on Solaris
 == requirements ==