netdev - Re: [Bridge] [PATCH] macvlan: add tap device backend

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Message-ID: <de7adc5e0908071035m4898dc5chaf9515d4a70465d@mail.gmail.com>
Date:	Fri, 7 Aug 2009 11:35:48 -0600
From:	Daniel Robbins <drobbins@...too.org>
To:	Arnd Bergmann <arnd@...db.de>
Cc:	netdev@...r.kernel.org, Herbert Xu <herbert@...dor.apana.org.au>,
	"Michael S. Tsirkin" <mst@...hat.com>,
	"Fischer, Anna" <anna.fischer@...com>,
	bridge@...ts.linux-foundation.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
	"David S. Miller\"" <davem@...emloft.net>,
	Or Gerlitz <ogerlitz@...taire.com>,
	Edge Virtual Bridging <evb@...oogroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Bridge] [PATCH] macvlan: add tap device backend

On Thu, Aug 6, 2009 at 3:50 PM, Arnd Bergmann<arnd@...db.de> wrote:
> This is a first prototype of a new interface into the network
> stack, to eventually replace tun/tap and the bridge driver
> in certain virtual machine setups.

I have some general questions about the intended use and benefits of
VEPA, from an IT perspective:

In which virtual machine setups and technologies do you forsee this
interface being used?
Is this new interface to be used within a virtual machine or
container, on the master node, or both?
What interface(s) would need to be configured for a single virtual
machine to use VEPA to access the network?
What are the current flexibility, security or performance limitations
of tun/tap and bridge that make this new interface necessary or
beneficial?
Is this new interface useful at all for VPN solutions or is it
*specifically* targeted for connecting virtual machines to the
network?
Is this essentially a bridge with layer-2 isolation for the virtual
machine interfaces built-in? If isolation is provided, what mechanism
is used to accomplish this, and how secure is it?
Does VEPA look like a regular ethernet interface (eth0) on the virtual
machine side?
Are there any associated user-space tools required for configuring a VEPA?

Do you have any HOWTO-style documentation that would demonstrate how
this interface would be used in production? Or a FAQ?

This seems like a very interesting effort but I don't quite have a
good grasp of VEPA's benefits and limitations -- I imagine that others
are in the same boat too.

Best Regards,

Daniel
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