tcm_loop
The Linux SCSI Target Wiki
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- | '''tcm_loop''' is a fabric module ([http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/nab/ | + | '''tcm_loop''' is a fabric module ([http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/nab/target-pending.git;a=tree;f=drivers/target/loopback;hb=HEAD tcm_loop.ko]) that can emulate any supported fabric type locally for the Linux Unified Target. |
== Overview == | == Overview == |
Revision as of 19:21, 4 July 2012
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![]() tcm_loop SCSI Emulation Device | |
Original author(s) | Nicholas Bellinger |
Developer(s) | Datera, Inc. |
Initial release | May 18, 2011 |
Stable release | 4.1.0 / June 20, 2012 |
Preview release | 4.2.0-rc5 / June 28, 2012 |
Development status | Production |
Written in | C |
Operating system | Linux |
Type | Fabric module |
License | GNU General Public License |
Website | datera.io |
- See Target for a complete overview over all fabric modules.
tcm_loop is a fabric module (tcm_loop.ko) that can emulate any supported fabric type locally for the Linux Unified Target.
Contents |
Overview
tcm_loop provides full local SCSI device emulation (SPC-3 and SPC-4) for raw block storage objects. It thus makes any raw block device apear to the Target as a full SPC-3/SPC-4 SCSI compliant device with the corresponding CDB-level SAS emulation, for access from any SCSI LLD driver.
tcm_loop minimizes overhead - it delivers >12 GB/s (native) and >2 GB/s (from a single KVM guest, without hardware assist) on Intel Nehalem platforms. This provides e.g., unmodified guest operating systems, such as VMware ESX or VMware vSphere, to use the full SPC-3/SPC-4 SCSI functionality on any type of local raw block storage object they require.
tcm_loop was initially released on 10/19/2009,[1] and it went upstream into the Linux 2.6.39 kernel on 3/18/2011.[2]
targetcli
targetcli from Datera, Inc. is used to configure tcm_loop targets. targetcli aggregates service modules via a core library, and exports them through an API to the Unified Target, to provide a unified single-node SAN configuration shell, independently of the underlying fabric(s).
Startup
targetcli is invoked by running targetcli as root from the command prompt of the underlying OS shell. An initial setup as described in targetcli is assumed.
# targetcli Welcome to targetcli: Copyright (c) 2012 by RisingTide Systems LLC. All rights reserved. Visit us at http://www.risingtidesystems.com. Using ib_srpt fabric module. Using qla2xxx fabric module. Using iscsi fabric module. Using loopback fabric module. /> loopback/ info Fabric module name: loopback ConfigFS path: /sys/kernel/config/target/loopback Allowed WWN list type: naa Fabric module specfile: /var/target/fabric/loopback.spec Fabric module features: nexus Corresponding kernel module: tcm_loop />
Instantiate a target
Instantiate a loopback target on the existing IBLOCK backstore device my_disk (as set up in targetcli):
/backstores/iblock/my_disk> /loopback create Successfully created LUN 0. Entering new node /loopback/naa.60014057f822d991/luns/lun0. /loopback/naa...991/luns/lun0>
targetcli automatically assigns the default ID '0' to the LUN, and then changes the working context to the new LUN. Now the target is created, and exports /dev/sdb as LUN 0.
Return to the root context, as no attributes need to be set or modified for a standard loopback target:
/loopback/naa...991/luns/lun0> cd / />
Display the object hierarchy
The resulting object hierarchy looks as follows (displayed from the root object):
/> ls o- / ..................................................................... [...] o- backstores .......................................................... [...] | o- fileio ............................................... [0 Storage Object] | o- iblock ............................................... [1 Storage Object] | | o- my_disk .......................................... [/dev/sdb activated] | o- pscsi ................................................ [0 Storage Object] | o- rd_dr ................................................ [0 Storage Object] | o- rd_mcp ............................................... [0 Storage Object] o- ib_srpt ........................................................ [0 Target] o- iscsi .......................................................... [0 Target] o- loopback ....................................................... [1 Target] | o- naa.60014057f822d991 ............................. [naa.60014053485b9490] | | o- luns .......................................................... [1 LUN] | | o- lun0 .................................... [iblock/my_disk (/dev/sbd)] o- qla2xxx ........................................................ [0 Target] />
Persist the configuration
The target configuration can be persisted across OS reboots by using saveconfig from the root context:
/> saveconfig WARNING: Saving rtsnode1 current configuration to disk will overwrite your boot settings. The current target configuration will become the default boot config. Are you sure? Type 'yes': yes Making backup of srpt/ConfigFS with timestamp: 2012-02-27_23:19:37.660264 Successfully updated default config /etc/target/srpt_start.sh Making backup of qla2xxx/ConfigFS with timestamp: 2012-02-27_23:19:37.660264 Successfully updated default config /etc/target/qla2xxx_start.sh Making backup of loopback/ConfigFS with timestamp: 2012-02-27_23:19:37.660264 Successfully updated default config /etc/target/loopback_start.sh Making backup of LIO-Target/ConfigFS with timestamp: 2012-02-27_23:19:37.660264 Successfully updated default config /etc/target/lio_backup-2012-02-27_23:19:37.660264.sh Making backup of Target_Core_Mod/ConfigFS with timestamp: 2012-02-27_23:19:37.660264 Successfully updated default config /etc/target/tcm_backup-2012-02-27_23:19:37.660264.sh Generated Target_Core_Mod config: /etc/target/backup/tcm_backup-2012-02-27_23:19:37.660264.sh Successfully updated default config /etc/target/lio_start.sh Successfully updated default config /etc/target/tcm_start.sh />
Warning: Without saveconfig, the target configuration is ephemeral and will be lost upon rebooting or unloading the target service.
Spec file
RTS spec files define the fabric-dependent feature set, capabilities and available target ports of the specific underlying fabric. In particular, the tcm_loop spec file /var/target/fabric/loopback.spec is included via RTSlib.
# WARNING: This is a draft specfile supplied for demo purposes only. # The loopback fabric module uses the default feature set features = nexus # Use naa WWNs wwn_type = naa # Non-standard module naming scheme kernel_module = tcm_loop # The configfs group configfs_group = loopback
Specifications
The type of SCSI fabric features that are available with tcm_loop (Target mode emulated SAS ports) includes the complete set of SPC-3 logic in the Target engine including advanced features such as PRs, ALUA, etc.
tcm_loop supports high level fabric emulation. That is, depending on which WWN is used to create the ConfigFS group in "/sys/kernel/config/target/loopback/$WWN", it configures itself to return iSCSI, FC etc. device identifiers for the SCSI LUN protocol identifiers device identifier page.
The corresponding logic resides in target_core_fabric_lib.c, and is shared by the different target fabric modules. The code contains magic numbers defined for different protocols in SPC-4, and is commented using pieces directly from SPC-4.
Timeline
Timeline of the LinuxIO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release | Details | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | ||
4.x | Version | 4.0 | 4.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Feature | LIO Core | Loop back | FCoE | iSCSI | Perf | SRP | CM WQ | FC USB 1394 | vHost | Perf | Misc | 16 GFC | iSER | Misc | VAAI | Misc | DIF Core NPIV | DIF iSER | DIF FC vhost | TCMU Xen | Misc | Misc | virtio 1.0 | Misc | NVMe OF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Linux | 2.6.38 | 2.6.39 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.10 | 3.11 | 3.12 | 3.13 | 3.14 | 3.15 | 3.16 | 3.17 | 3.18 | 3.19 | 3.20 | 3.21 | 3.22 |
See also
- RTS OS, targetcli
- Target
- iSCSI, Fibre Channel, FCoE, InfiniBand, IBM vSCSI
- ConfigFS: tcm_loop/configFS (low level kernel API)
Notes
- ↑ Nicholas Bellinger (10/19/2009). "[TCM_LOOP]: Add a virtual SCSI loopback fabric module". lkml.org.
- ↑ Nicholas Bellinger (3/18/2011). "[SCSI] tcm_loop: Add multi-fabric Linux/SCSI LLD fabric module". lkml.org.
External links
- RisingTide Systems Official website
- RTS OS Admin Manual
- RTSlib Reference Guide [HTML][PDF]