| From: |
| hare-AT-kernel.org |
| To: |
| Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg-AT-kernel.org>, Breno Leitao <leitao-AT-debian.org>, Alexander Viro <viro-AT-zeniv.linux.org.uk>, Christian Brauner <brauner-AT-kernel.org>, Jan Kara <jack-AT-suse.cz>, Christoph Hellwig <hch-AT-lst.de>, Sagi Grimberg <sagi-AT-grimberg.me>, Chaitanya Kulkarni <kch-AT-nvidia.com> |
| Subject: |
| [PATCH RFC v2 00/12] namespace-aware configfs |
| Date: |
| Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:36:40 +0200 |
| Message-ID: |
| <20260619-configfs-ns-v2-0-82fd7094b8dc@kernel.org> |
| Cc: |
| linux-kernel-AT-vger.kernel.org, linux-fsdevel-AT-vger.kernel.org, linux-nvme-AT-lists.infradead.org, Hannes Reinecke <hare-AT-kernel.org>, Hannes Reinecke <hare-AT-suse.de> |
| Archive-link: |
| Article |
Hey all,
during discussions at LSF/MM I thought it would be quite helpful
to make configfs namespace aware, such that one could do:
unshare --mnt
mount -t configfs none /sys/kernel/config
and get a new instance of configfs. This will allow to have distinct
configurations for each namespace.
This is particularly helpful if you want to run eg nvmet in a container;
with this patchset each container can have its own configuration, and
one can simulate a multi-node nvmet cluster using containers.
How it works:
The configfs 'root' entries are stored in 'configfs_super_info', which
can be looked up from an xarray using the (network) namespace ID as the index.
A configfs subsystem can be converted to be namespace aware by implementing
the new subsyste callbacks 'fill_subsystem()' and 'clear_subsystem', which
are responsible for populating the subsystem structure.
Upon registration via 'register_subsystem()' the subsystem is put in a
linked list within 'configfs_super_info'. So when mount() is called from
a different namespace this list is traversed, and new subsystems are created
in the new namespace using the callbacks.
Open Issues:
- I've added a new function 'mnt_clone_direct()' to clone the vfsmount
entry (the original code just did a simple_pin_fs()). Not sure if
that's correct. Christian?
- Ideally I would love to make the whole thing work without having
to mount a new configfs instance from within the container.
Again, not sure if that's possible.
- I've decided to base it off the net namespace (and not any namespace).
That makes implementation easier, but requires the various subsystems
to actually _use_ the network namespace.
The current use-case (nvmet) does that, so it works for me :-)
Otherwise, as usual, commands and reviews are welcome.
Changes to the original submission:
- Changed to use 'net' namespace instead of 'mnt' namespace
- Smaller fixes as suggested by sashiko.
Signed-off-by: Hannes Reinecke <hare@kernel.org>
---
Hannes Reinecke (12):
fs/configfs: rework configfs_is_root()
fs/configfs: dynamically allocate super_info
fs/configfs: separate out configfs_{link,unlink}_root()
fs/configfs: add superblock as attribute to configfs_pin_fs()
fs/configfs: add 'fill_subsystem' and 'clear_subsystem' callbacks
fs/configfs: add superblock as attribute to configfs_pin_fs()
fs/namespace: implement mnt_clone_direct()
fs/configfs: switch to get_tree_keyed()
fs/configfs: open-code simple_pin_fs()
nvmet: make discovery subsystem dynamic
nvmet: per net-namespace port list
nvmet: make configfs setup namespace aware
drivers/nvme/target/configfs.c | 203 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
drivers/nvme/target/core.c | 36 +++---
drivers/nvme/target/discovery.c | 91 +++++++++++----
drivers/nvme/target/nvmet.h | 15 ++-
drivers/nvme/target/tcp.c | 6 +-
fs/configfs/configfs_internal.h | 23 +++-
fs/configfs/dir.c | 183 ++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
fs/configfs/mount.c | 248 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------
fs/namespace.c | 11 ++
include/linux/configfs.h | 8 ++
include/linux/mount.h | 1 +
11 files changed, 668 insertions(+), 157 deletions(-)
---
base-commit: 66affa37cfac0aec061cc4bcf4a065b0c52f7e19
change-id: 20260619-configfs-ns-b5748b366366
Best regards,
--
Hannes Reinecke <hare@kernel.org>