Date:   Tue, 2 Jul 2019 11:15:40 -0700
From:   Eric Biggers <ebiggers@...nel.org>
To:     David Howells <dhowells@...hat.com>
Cc:     viro@...iv.linux.org.uk, raven@...maw.net, mszeredi@...hat.com,
        christian@...uner.io, linux-api@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH 00/11] VFS: Introduce filesystem information query
 syscall [ver #15]

On Fri, Jun 28, 2019 at 04:43:37PM +0100, David Howells wrote:
> 
> Here are a set of patches that adds a syscall, fsinfo(), that allows
> attributes of a filesystem/superblock to be queried.  Attribute values are
> of four basic types:
> 
>  (1) Version dependent-length structure (size defined by type).
> 
>  (2) Variable-length string (up to 4096, no NUL).
> 
>  (3) Array of fixed-length structures (up to INT_MAX size).
> 
>  (4) Opaque blob (up to INT_MAX size).
> 
> Attributes can have multiple values either as a sequence of values or a
> sequence-of-sequences of values and all the values of a particular
> attribute must be of the same type.
> 
> Note that the values of an attribute *are* allowed to vary between dentries
> within a single superblock, depending on the specific dentry that you're
> looking at.
> 
> I've tried to make the interface as light as possible, so integer/enum
> attribute selector rather than string and the core does all the allocation
> and extensibility support work rather than leaving that to the filesystems.
> That means that for the first two attribute types, sb->s_op->fsinfo() may
> assume that the provided buffer is always present and always big enough.
> 
> Further, this removes the possibility of the filesystem gaining access to the
> userspace buffer.
> 
> 
> fsinfo() allows a variety of information to be retrieved about a filesystem
> and the mount topology:
> 
>  (1) General superblock attributes:
> 
>       - The amount of space/free space in a filesystem (as statfs()).
>       - Filesystem identifiers (UUID, volume label, device numbers, ...)
>       - The limits on a filesystem's capabilities
>       - Information on supported statx fields and attributes and IOC flags.
>       - A variety single-bit flags indicating supported capabilities.
>       - Timestamp resolution and range.
>       - Sources (as per mount(2), but fsconfig() allows multiple sources).
>       - In-filesystem filename format information.
>       - Filesystem parameters ("mount -o xxx"-type things).
>       - LSM parameters (again "mount -o xxx"-type things).
> 
>  (2) Filesystem-specific superblock attributes:
> 
>       - Server names and addresses.
>       - Cell name.
> 
>  (3) Filesystem configuration metadata attributes:
> 
>       - Filesystem parameter type descriptions.
>       - Name -> parameter mappings.
>       - Simple enumeration name -> value mappings.
> 
>  (4) Information about what the fsinfo() syscall itself supports, including
>      the number of attibutes supported and the number of capability bits
>      supported.
> 
>  (5) Future patches will include information about the mount topology.
> 
> The system is extensible:
> 
>  (1) New attributes can be added.  There is no requirement that a
>      filesystem implement every attribute.  Note that the core VFS keeps a
>      table of types and sizes so it can handle future extensibility rather
>      than delegating this to the filesystems.
> 
>  (2) Version length-dependent structure attributes can be made larger and
>      have additional information tacked on the end, provided it keeps the
>      layout of the existing fields.  If an older process asks for a shorter
>      structure, it will only be given the bits it asks for.  If a newer
>      process asks for a longer structure on an older kernel, the extra
>      space will be set to 0.  In all cases, the size of the data actually
>      available is returned.
> 
>      In essence, the size of a structure is that structure's version: a
>      smaller size is an earlier version and a later version includes
>      everything that the earlier version did.
> 
>  (3) New single-bit capability flags can be added.  This is a structure-typed
>      attribute and, as such, (2) applies.  Any bits you wanted but the kernel
>      doesn't support are automatically set to 0.
> 
> If a filesystem-specific attribute is added, it should just take up the next
> number in the enumeration.  Currently, I do not intend that the number space
> should be subdivided between interested parties.
> 
> 
> fsinfo() may be called like the following, for example:
> 
> 	struct fsinfo_params params = {
> 		.at_flags	= AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW,
> 		.request	= FSINFO_ATTR_SERVER_ADDRESS;
> 		.Nth		= 2;
> 		.Mth		= 1;
> 	};
> 	struct fsinfo_server_address address;
> 
> 	len = fsinfo(AT_FDCWD, "/afs/grand.central.org/doc", &params,
> 		     &address, sizeof(address));
> 
> The above example would query a network filesystem, such as AFS or NFS, and
> ask what the 2nd address (Mth) of the 3rd server (Nth) that the superblock is
> using is.  Whereas:
> 
> 	struct fsinfo_params params = {
> 		.at_flags	= AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW,
> 		.request	= FSINFO_ATTR_AFS_CELL_NAME;
> 	};
> 	char cell_name[256];
> 
> 	len = fsinfo(AT_FDCWD, "/afs/grand.central.org/doc", &params,
> 		     &cell_name, sizeof(cell_name));
> 
> would retrieve the name of an AFS cell as a string.
> 
> fsinfo() can also be used to query a context from fsopen() or fspick():
> 
> 	fd = fsopen("ext4", 0);
> 	struct fsinfo_params params = {
> 		.request	= FSINFO_ATTR_PARAM_DESCRIPTION;
> 	};
> 	struct fsinfo_param_description desc;
> 	fsinfo(fd, NULL, &params, &desc, sizeof(desc));
> 
> even if that context doesn't currently have a superblock attached (though if
> there's no superblock attached, only filesystem-specific things like parameter
> descriptions can be accessed).
> 
> The patches can be found here also:
> 
> 	https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/dhowells/linux-fs.git
> 
> on branch:
> 
> 	fsinfo-core
> 
> 

Where are the tests and man page for this system call?  "Tests" meaning actual
automated tests in a commonly used test suite (e.g. LTP, kselftests, or
xfstests), not just a sample program.

- Eric

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