StorageUnificationTool

From Linux NFS

Contents 1 description 2 use cases 2.1 Handles storage devices 2.2 Handles storage pools 2.3 Handles file systems 2.4 Handles NFS administration 2.5 Handles data management 3 other examples 4 requirements 5 major architecture 6 operation 7 random ideas 8 free-form notes

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

• Need a good name for it
• Must tie together the disparate, separately maintained, and undocumented masses of storage utilities that exist on Linux
• And provide new tools that don't already exist
• Emulates the nice model provided by zpool/zfs
• Management
  • Do we want some kind of permanent storage management (disk/CF/optical/tape)? Device maintenance? Ways to drive smartctl, hdparm, 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 management (create, check, remove, expand)? Managing /etc/fstab, /etc/exports, and the automounters? Disk usage analyzer (boabab)?
  • Do we want some kind of data management (replication/migration/backup/mirroring)?

major architecture

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

operation

random ideas

• Start simple -- admin /etc/fstab or run smartctl
• Need place to collect ideas publicly
  • NFSv4 wiki
  • irc -- use #linuxfs, or something else
  • mailing list?
• Python!
  • Found some interesting pythings that could help
    • module that can do stuff with devices
    • pyparted to deal with partition management
    • pylibacl for... well, you know

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.