Date:	Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:57:05 +0300
From:	Vladislav Bolkhovitin <vst@...b.net>
To:	"Nicholas A. Bellinger" <nab@...ux-iscsi.org>
CC:	linux-scsi@...r.kernel.org, LKML <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	scst-devel <scst-devel@...ts.sourceforge.net>,
	Bart Van Assche <bart.vanassche@...il.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH][RFC 21/23]: iSCSI target driver

Nicholas A. Bellinger wrote:
> On Fri, 2008-12-12 at 22:26 +0300, Vladislav Bolkhovitin wrote:
>> Nicholas A. Bellinger wrote:
>>> On Wed, 2008-12-10 at 22:01 +0300, Vladislav Bolkhovitin wrote:
>>>> This patch contains iSCSI-SCST target driver. This driver is a heavily 
>>>> modified forked with all respects IET 
>>>> (http://iscsitarget.sourceforge.net). Modifications were aimed to make a 
>>>> clearer, more reviewable and maintainable code as well as to fix many 
>>>> problems and make many improvements. See 
>>>> http://scst.sourceforge.net/target_iscsi.html for more details.
>>>>
>>>> It has split user/kernel space architecture, where all management, 
>>>> sessions creation, parameters negotiation, etc. made in user space and 
>>>> data are transferred in the kernel space. Such architecture for iSCSI 
>>>> processing was many times acknowledged as the right one. Particularly, 
>>>> in-kernel iSCSI initiator (open-iscsi) has such architecture.
>>>>
>>> Just as with the Open/iSCSI Initiator, IMHO I believe the split
>>> architecture design is difficult both to improve, debug and maintain,
>>> and provides *ZERO* additional benefit in the context of traditional
>>> iSCSI target mode for doing login and connection/session setup in
>>> userspace.
>>>
>>> Also, I appericate that you spent alot of time porting over IET code to
>>> your engine, but during our previous discussion you did not seem
>>> terribly interested in validation against core-iscsi-dv
>>> (http://linux-iscsi.org/index.php/Core-iscsi-dv) to test RFC-3720
>>> interopt and stability.  Because the Core-iSCSI Initiator supports every
>>> possible parameter combination up to ErrorRecoveryLevel=0 defined in
>>> RFC-3720, the Core-iSCSI-Dv tests can run badblocks (or any too) to
>>> check data integrity for *EVERY* possible traditional iSCSI key
>>> combination and functionality for your iSCSI-SCST work, and any type of
>>> serious iSCSI-SCST production deployments.
>> The fact that nobody so far cared to do all those complicated and time 
>> consuming rather academic tests doesn't mean that iSCSI-SCST won't pass 
>> them. IET/iSCSI-SCST have been used for a long time in very different 
>> setups, including xBSD and Solaris initiators on non-x86 architectures, 
>> without any problems.
>>
> 
> Heh, nice try.
> 
> Considering that core-iscsi-dv is used for validating the production
> systems used for Linux-iSCSI.org services, I would hardly consider self
> hosted usage of LIO-Target (eg: actually using code we write for public
> project services) an "academic" endevour.  Last time I checked you where
> iSCSI-SCST was not running self-hosted production for your own project,
> so I hardly think you are in a place to judge which RFC-3720 domain
> validation tests are of worth or not.
> 
> Anyways, you having to guess about if your iSCSI target code will pass a
> RFC-3720 compliance hardly makes it mainline material.

Simply answer how many things in kernel have gone through such 
validation things and did absence of going through them change anything 
for them from the mainline acceptance POV? Has the mainline open-iscsi 
even ran through your tests? And so?

I have nothing against any artificial tests, but one shouldn't 
overestimate their value.

BTW, removing people from CC usually considered as a very impolite thing.

Vlad
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