Re: The issues for agreeing on a virtualization/namespaces implementation.

From: Hubertus Franke
Date: Wed Feb 08 2006 - 09:44:38 EST


Eric W. Biederman wrote:
Hubertus Franke <frankeh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:


Eric W. Biederman wrote:


2) What is the syscall interface to create these namespaces?
- Do we add clone flags? (Plan 9 style)

Like that approach .. flexible .. particular when one has well specified
namespaces.


- Do we add a syscall (similar to setsid) per namespace?
(Traditional unix style)?

Where does that approach end .. what's wrong with doing it at clone() time ?
Mainly the naming issue. Just providing a flag does not give me name.


It really is a fairly even toss up. The usual argument for doing it
this way is that you will get a endless stream of arguments added to
fork+exec other wise. Look of posix_spawn or the windows version if
you want an example. Bits to clone are skirting the edge of a slippery slope.


So it seems the clone( flags ) is a reasonable approach to create new
namespaces. Question is what is the initial state of each namespace?
In pidspace we know we should be creating an empty pidmap !
In network, someone suggested creating a loopback device
In uts, create "localhost"
Are there examples where we rather inherit ? Filesystem ?
Can we iterate the assumption for each subsystem what people thing is right?

IMHO, there is only a need to refer to a namespace from the global context.
Since one will be moving into a new container, but getting out of one
could be prohibitive (e.g. after migration)
It does not make sense therefore to know the name of a namespace in
a different container.

The example you used below by using the pid comes natural, because
that already limits visibility.

I am still struggling with why we need new sys_calls.
sys_calls already exist for changing certain system parameters (e.g. utsname )
so to me it boils down to identifying a proper initial state when the
namespace is created.


3) How do we refer to namespaces and containers when we are not members?
- Do we refer to them indirectly by processes or other objects that
we can see and are members?
- Do we assign some kind of unique id to the containers?

In containers I simply created an explicite name, which ofcourse colides with
the
clone() approach ..
One possibility is to allow associating a name with a namespace.
For instance
int set_namespace_name( long flags, const char *name ) /* the once we are using
in clone */
{
if (!flag)
set name of container associated with current.
if (flag())
set the name if only one container is associated with the
namespace(s)
identified .. or some similar rule
}



What I have done which seems easier than creating new names is to refer
to the process which has the namespace I want to manipulate.

Is then the idea to only allow the container->init to manipulate
or is there need to allow other priviliged processes to perform namespace
manipulation?
Also after thinking about it.. why is there a need to have an external name
for a namespace ?



6) How do we do all of this efficiently without a noticeable impact on
performance?
- I have already heard concerns that I might be introducing cache
line bounces and thus increasing tasklist_lock hold time.
Which on big way systems can be a problem.

Possible to split the lock up now.. one for each pidspace ?


At the moment it is worth thinking about. If the problem isn't
so bad that people aren't actively working on it we don't have to
solve the problem for a little while, just be aware of it.


Agree, just need to be sure we can split it up. But you already keep
a task list per pid-namespace, so there should be no problem IMHO.
If so let's do it now and take it of the table it its as simple as

task_list_lock ::= pspace->task_list_lock


7) How do we allow a process inside a container to create containers
for it's children?
- In general this is trivial but there are a few ugly issues
here.

Speaking of pids only here ...
Does it matter, you just hang all those containers hang of init.
What ever hierarchy they form is external ...


In general it is simple. For resource accounting, and for naming so
you can migrate a container with a nested container it is a question
you need to be slightly careful with.

Absolutely, that's why it is useful to have an "external" idea of how
containers are constructed of basic namespaces==subsystems.
The it "simply" becomes a policy. E.g. one can not migrate a container
that has shared subsystems.
Resource accounting I agree, that might required active aggregation
at request time.

-- Hubertus

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