Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Request for Comments: 7533
Category: Standards Track
ISSN: 2070-1721

J. Lentini
NetApp
R. Tewari
IBM Almaden
C. Lever, Ed.
Oracle Corporation
March 2015

Administration Protocol for Federated File Systems

Abstract

This document describes the administration protocol for a federated file system (FedFS) that enables file access and namespace traversal across collections of independently administered fileservers. The protocol specifies a set of interfaces by which fileservers with different administrators can form a fileserver federation that provides a namespace composed of the file systems physically hosted on and exported by the constituent fileservers.

Status of This Memo

This is an Internet Standards Track document.

This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has received public review and has been approved for publication by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

Information about the current status of this document, any errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7533.

Copyright Notice

This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document. Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License.

This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF Contributions published or made publicly available before November 10, 2008. The person(s) controlling the copyright in some of this material may not have granted the IETF Trust the right to allow modifications of such material outside the IETF Standards Process. Without obtaining an adequate license from the person(s) controlling the copyright in such materials, this document may not be modified outside the IETF Standards Process, and derivative works of it may not be created outside the IETF Standards Process, except to format it for publication as an RFC or to translate it into languages other than English.

   1. Introduction ....................................................4
      1.1. Definitions ................................................4
      1.2. Requirements Language ......................................6
   2. Protocol ........................................................7
   3. Error Values ...................................................12
   4. Data Types .....................................................15
      4.1. FedFsNsdbName Equality ....................................17
   5. Procedures .....................................................17
      5.1. FEDFS_NULL ................................................18
           5.1.1. Synopsis ...........................................18
           5.1.2. Description ........................................18
           5.1.3. Errors .............................................18
      5.2. FEDFS_CREATE_JUNCTION .....................................18
           5.2.1. Synopsis ...........................................18
           5.2.2. Description ........................................18
           5.2.3. Errors .............................................20
      5.3. FEDFS_DELETE_JUNCTION .....................................20
           5.3.1. Synopsis ...........................................20
           5.3.2. Description ........................................20
           5.3.3. Errors .............................................22
      5.4. FEDFS_LOOKUP_JUNCTION .....................................22
           5.4.1. Synopsis ...........................................22
           5.4.2. Description ........................................22
           5.4.3. Errors .............................................25
      5.5. FEDFS_CREATE_REPLICATION ..................................26
           5.5.1. Synopsis ...........................................26
           5.5.2. Description ........................................26
           5.5.3. Errors .............................................27
      5.6. FEDFS_DELETE_REPLICATION ..................................27
           5.6.1. Synopsis ...........................................27
           5.6.2. Description ........................................27
           5.6.3. Errors .............................................28
      5.7. FEDFS_LOOKUP_REPLICATION ..................................28
           5.7.1. Synopsis ...........................................28
           5.7.2. Description ........................................28
           5.7.3. Errors .............................................29
      5.8. FEDFS_SET_NSDB_PARAMS .....................................30
           5.8.1. Synopsis ...........................................30
           5.8.2. Description ........................................30
           5.8.3. Errors .............................................31
      5.9. FEDFS_GET_NSDB_PARAMS .....................................31
           5.9.1. Synopsis ...........................................31
           5.9.2. Description ........................................31
           5.9.3. Errors .............................................32
      5.10. FEDFS_GET_LIMITED_NSDB_PARAMS ............................32
           5.10.1. Synopsis ..........................................32
   
           5.10.2. Description .......................................32
           5.10.3. Errors ............................................33
   6. Security Considerations ........................................33
   7. IANA Considerations ............................................34
   8. References .....................................................34
      8.1. Normative References ......................................34
      8.2. Informative References ....................................35
   Acknowledgments ...................................................36
   Authors' Addresses ................................................37

1. Introduction

A federated file system enables file access and namespace traversal in a uniform, secure, and consistent manner across multiple independent fileservers within an enterprise (and possibly across multiple enterprises) with reasonably good performance.

Traditionally, building a namespace that spans multiple fileservers has been difficult for two reasons. First, the fileservers that export pieces of the namespace are often not in the same administrative domain. Second, there is no standard mechanism for the fileservers to cooperatively present the namespace. Fileservers might provide proprietary management tools, and in some cases, an administrator might be able to use the proprietary tools to build a shared namespace out of the exported file systems. Relying on vendor-proprietary tools does not work in larger enterprises or when collaborating across enterprises because it is likely that the system will contain fileservers running different software, each with their own protocols, with no common protocol to manage the namespace or exchange namespace information.

The requirements for federated namespaces are described in [RFC5716].

The protocol for federated file systems described in [RFC7532] allows fileservers from different vendors and/or with different administrators to cooperatively build a namespace.

This document describes the protocol used by administrators to configure the fileservers and construct the namespace.

1.1. Definitions

   Administrator:  A user with the necessary authority to initiate
      administrative tasks on one or more servers.
   
   Admin Entity:  A server or agent that administers a collection of
      fileservers and persistently stores the namespace information.
   
   File-Access Client:  Standard off-the-shelf, network-attached storage
      (NAS) client software that communicates with fileservers using a
      standard file-access protocol.
   
   Federation:  A set of fileserver collections and singleton
      fileservers that use a common set of interfaces and protocols in
      order to provide to file-access clients a federated namespace
      accessible through a file system access protocol.
   
   Fileserver:  A server that stores physical fileset data or refers
      file-access clients to other fileservers.  A fileserver provides
      access to its shared file system data via a file-access protocol.
   
   Fileset:  The abstraction of a set of files and the directory tree
      that contains them.  A fileset is the fundamental unit of data
      management in the federation.

Note that all files within a fileset are descendants of one directory and that filesets do not span file systems.

   File System:  A self-contained unit of export for a fileserver and
      the mechanism used to implement filesets.  The fileset does not
      need to be rooted at the root of the file system, nor at the
      export point for the file system.

A single file system MAY implement more than one fileset, if the file-access protocol and the fileserver permit this.

   File-Access Protocol:  A network file system access protocol such as
      the Network File System (NFS) version 4 [RFC7530] or the Common
      Internet File System (CIFS) [MS-SMB] [MS-SMB2] [MS-CIFS].
   
   FSL (Fileset Location):  The location of the implementation of a
      fileset at a particular moment in time.  An FSL MUST be something
      that can be translated into a protocol-specific description of a
      resource that a file-access client can access directly, such as an
      fs_locations attribute (for NFSv4) or a share name (for CIFS).
   
   FSN (Fileset Name):  A platform-independent and globally unique name
      for a fileset.  Two FSLs that implement replicas of the same
      fileset MUST have the same FSN, and if a fileset is migrated from
      one location to another, the FSN of that fileset MUST remain the
      same.
   
   Junction:  A file system object used to link a directory name in the
      current fileset with an object within another fileset.  The
      server-side "link" from a leaf node in one fileset to the root of
      another fileset.
   
   Namespace:  A filename/directory tree that a sufficiently authorized
      file-access client can observe.
   
   NSDB (Namespace Database) Service:  A service that maps FSNs to FSLs.
      The NSDB may also be used to store other information, such as
      annotations for these mappings and their components.
   
   NSDB Node:  The name or location of a server that implements part of
      the NSDB service and is responsible for keeping track of the FSLs
      (and related information) that implement a given partition of the
      FSNs.
   
   Referral:  A server response to a file-access client access that
      directs the client to evaluate the current object as a reference
      to an object at a different location (specified by an FSL) in
      another fileset and possibly hosted on another fileserver.  The
      client re-attempts the access to the object at the new location.
   
   Replica:  A redundant implementation of a fileset.  Each replica
      shares the same FSN but has a different FSL.

Replicas may be used to increase availability or performance. Updates to replicas of the same fileset MUST appear to occur in the same order; therefore, each replica is self-consistent at any moment.

We do not assume that updates to each replica occur simultaneously. If a replica is offline or unreachable, the other replicas may be updated.

   Server Collection:  A set of fileservers administered as a unit.  A
      server collection may be administered with vendor-specific
      software.

The namespace provided by a server collection could be part of the federated namespace.

   Singleton Server:  A server collection containing only one server; a
      stand-alone fileserver.

1.2. Requirements Language

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

2. Protocol

The Remote Procedure Call (RPC) protocol used to convey administration operations is the Open Network Computing (ONC) RPC protocol [RFC5531]. The data structures used for the parameters and return values of these procedures are expressed in this document in External Data Representation (XDR) [RFC4506].

The XDR definitions below are formatted to allow the reader to easily extract them from the document. The reader can use the following shell script to extract the definitions:

             <CODE BEGINS>
             
             #!/bin/sh
             grep '^ *///' | sed 's?^ */// ??' | sed 's?^ *///$??'
             
             <CODE ENDS>

If the above script is stored in a file called "extract.sh" and this document is in a file called "spec.txt", then the reader can do:

             <CODE BEGINS>
             
             sh extract.sh < spec.txt > admin1.xdr
             
             <CODE ENDS>

The effect of the script is to remove leading white space from each line, plus a sentinel sequence of "///".

The protocol definition in XDR notation is shown below. We begin by defining basic constants and structures used by the protocol. We then present the procedures defined by the protocol.

   <CODE BEGINS>
   
    /// /*
    ///  * Copyright © 2015 IETF Trust and the persons identified
    ///  * as authors of the code.  All rights reserved.
    ///  *
    ///  * The authors of the code are:
    ///  * J. Lentini, C. Everhart, D. Ellard, R. Tewari, and M. Naik.
    ///  *
    ///  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with
    ///  * or without modification, are permitted provided that the
    ///  * following conditions are met:
    ///  *
    ///  * - Redistributions of source code must retain the above
    ///  *   copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
    ///  *   following disclaimer.
    ///  *
    ///  * - Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
    ///  *   copyright notice, this list of conditions and the
    ///  *   following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other
    ///  *   materials provided with the distribution.
    ///  *
    ///  * - Neither the name of Internet Society, IETF or IETF
    ///  *   Trust, nor the names of specific contributors, may be
    ///  *   used to endorse or promote products derived from this
    ///  *   software without specific prior written permission.
    ///  *
    ///  *   THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
    ///  *   AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
    ///  *   WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
    ///  *   IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
    ///  *   FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO
    ///  *   EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
    ///  *   LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
    ///  *   EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
    ///  *   NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
    ///  *   SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
    ///  *   INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
    ///  *   LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
    ///  *   OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
    ///  *   IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF
    ///  *   ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
    ///  */
    ///
    /// enum FedFsStatus {
    ///  FEDFS_OK                                 = 0,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS                         = 1,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR                        = 2,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_BADNAME                        = 3,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NAMETOOLONG                    = 4,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_LOOP                           = 5,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_BADXDR                         = 6,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_EXIST                          = 7,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_INVAL                          = 8,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_IO                             = 9,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NOSPC                          = 10,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NOTJUNCT                       = 11,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NOTLOCAL                       = 12,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_PERM                           = 13,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_ROFS                           = 14,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_SVRFAULT                       = 15,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NOTSUPP                        = 16,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_ROUTE                     = 17,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_DOWN                      = 18,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_CONN                      = 19,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_AUTH                      = 20,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP                      = 21,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_VAL                  = 22,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NONCE                     = 23,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NOFSN                     = 24,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NOFSL                     = 25,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_RESPONSE                  = 26,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_FAULT                     = 27,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS                    = 28,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL             = 29,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_VAL         = 30,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_NOTFOLLOWED = 31,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS_LDAP_REFERRAL      = 32,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_PATH_TYPE_UNSUPP               = 33,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_DELAY                          = 34,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE                       = 35,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_UNKNOWN_CACHE                  = 36,
    ///  FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE_UPDATE                = 37
    /// };
    ///
    /// typedef opaque                 utf8string<>;
    /// typedef utf8string             ascii_REQUIRED4;
    /// typedef utf8string             utf8val_REQUIRED4;
    ///
    /// typedef opaque FedFsUuid[16];
    ///
    /// struct FedFsNsdbName {
    ///         unsigned int           port;
    ///         utf8val_REQUIRED4      hostname;
    /// };
    ///
    /// typedef ascii_REQUIRED4 FedFsPathComponent;
    /// typedef FedFsPathComponent FedFsPathName<>;
    ///
    /// struct FedFsFsn {
    ///         FedFsUuid              fsnUuid;
    ///         FedFsNsdbName          nsdbName;
    /// };
    ///
    /// enum FedFsFslType {
    ///  FEDFS_NFS_FSL = 0
    /// };
    ///
    /// struct FedFsNfsFsl {
    ///         FedFsUuid              fslUuid;
    ///         unsigned int           port;
    ///         utf8val_REQUIRED4      hostname;
    ///         FedFsPathName          path;
    /// };
    ///
    /// union FedFsFsl switch(FedFsFslType type) {
    ///  case FEDFS_NFS_FSL:
    ///         FedFsNfsFsl            nfsFsl;
    /// };
    ///
    /// enum FedFsPathType {
    ///  FEDFS_PATH_SYS = 0,
    ///  FEDFS_PATH_NFS = 1
    /// };
    ///
    /// union FedFsPath switch(FedFsPathType type) {
    ///  case FEDFS_PATH_SYS: /* administrative path */
    ///         FedFsPathName          adminPath;
    ///  case FEDFS_PATH_NFS: /* NFS namespace path */
    ///         FedFsPathName          nfsPath;
    /// };
    ///
    /// struct FedFsCreateArgs {
    ///         FedFsPath              path;
    ///         FedFsFsn               fsn;
    /// };
    ///
    /// enum FedFsResolveType {
    ///  FEDFS_RESOLVE_NONE  = 0,
    ///  FEDFS_RESOLVE_CACHE = 1,
    ///  FEDFS_RESOLVE_NSDB  = 2
    /// };
    ///
    /// struct FedFsLookupArgs {
    ///         FedFsPath              path;
    ///         FedFsResolveType       resolve;
    /// };
    ///
    /// struct FedFsLookupResOk {
    ///         FedFsFsn               fsn;
    ///         FedFsFsl               fsl<>;
    /// };
    ///
    /// struct FedFsLookupResReferralVal {
    ///         FedFsNsdbName          targetNsdb;
    ///         unsigned int           ldapResultCode;
    /// };
    ///
    /// union FedFsLookupRes switch (FedFsStatus status) {
    ///  case FEDFS_OK:
    ///  case FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE_UPDATE:
    ///         FedFsLookupResOk           resok;
    ///  case FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_VAL:
    ///         unsigned int               ldapResultCode;
    ///  case FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL:
    ///  case FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS_LDAP_REFERRAL:
    ///         FedFsNsdbName              targetNsdb;
    ///  case FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_VAL:
    ///         FedFsLookupResReferralVal  resReferralVal;
    ///  default:
    ///         void;
    /// };
    ///
    /// enum FedFsConnectionSec {
    ///  FEDFS_SEC_NONE = 0,
    ///  FEDFS_SEC_TLS = 1 /* StartTLS mechanism; RFC 4513, Section 3 */
    /// };
    ///
    /// union FedFsNsdbParams switch (FedFsConnectionSec secType) {
    ///  case FEDFS_SEC_TLS:
    ///         opaque                   secData<>;
    ///  default:
    ///         void;
    /// };
    ///
    /// struct FedFsSetNsdbParamsArgs {
    ///         FedFsNsdbName            nsdbName;
    ///         FedFsNsdbParams          params;
    /// };
    ///
    /// union FedFsGetNsdbParamsRes switch (FedFsStatus status) {
    ///  case FEDFS_OK:
    ///         FedFsNsdbParams          params;
    ///  default:
    ///         void;
    /// };
    ///
    /// union FedFsGetLimitedNsdbParamsRes switch (FedFsStatus status) {
    ///  case FEDFS_OK:
    ///         FedFsConnectionSec       secType;
    ///  default:
    ///         void;
    /// };
    ///
    /// program FEDFS_PROG {
    ///  version FEDFS_V1 {
    ///      void FEDFS_NULL(void) = 0;
    ///      FedFsStatus FEDFS_CREATE_JUNCTION(
    ///                   FedFsCreateArgs) = 1;
    ///      FedFsStatus FEDFS_DELETE_JUNCTION(
    ///                   FedFsPath) = 2;
    ///      FedFsLookupRes FEDFS_LOOKUP_JUNCTION(
    ///                   FedFsLookupArgs) = 3;
    ///      FedFsStatus FEDFS_CREATE_REPLICATION(
    ///                   FedFsCreateArgs) = 7;
    ///      FedFsStatus FEDFS_DELETE_REPLICATION(
    ///                   FedFsPath) = 8;
    ///      FedFsLookupRes FEDFS_LOOKUP_REPLICATION(
    ///                   FedFsLookupArgs) = 9;
    ///      FedFsStatus FEDFS_SET_NSDB_PARAMS(
    ///                   FedFsSetNsdbParamsArgs) = 4;
    ///      FedFsGetNsdbParamsRes FEDFS_GET_NSDB_PARAMS(
    ///                   FedFsNsdbName) = 5;
    ///      FedFsGetLimitedNsdbParamsRes FEDFS_GET_LIMITED_NSDB_PARAMS(
    ///                   FedFsNsdbName) = 6;
    ///  } = 1;
    /// } = 100418;
   
   <CODE ENDS>

3. Error Values

The results of successful operations will consist of a status of FEDFS_OK. The results of unsuccessful operations will begin with a status, other than FEDFS_OK, that indicates the reason why the operation failed.

Many of the error status names and meanings (and the prose for their descriptions) are taken from the specification for NFSv4 [RFC7530]. Note, however, that the numeric values for the status codes are different. For example, the name and meaning of FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS was inspired by NFSv4's NFS4ERR_ACCESS, but their numeric values are different.

The status of an unsuccessful operation will generally only indicate the first error encountered during the attempt to execute the operation.

   FEDFS_OK:  No errors were encountered.  The operation was a success.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS:  Permission denied.  The caller does not have the
      correct permission to perform the requested operation.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR:  A UTF-8 string contains a character that is not
      supported by the server in the context in which it being used.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_BADNAME:  A name string in a request consisted of valid
      UTF-8 characters supported by the server, but the name is not
      supported by the server as a valid name for the current operation.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NAMETOOLONG:  Returned when the pathname in an operation
      exceeds the server's implementation limit.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_LOOP:  Returned when too many symbolic links were
      encountered in resolving pathname.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_BADXDR:  The server encountered an XDR decoding error while
      processing an operation.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_EXIST:  The junction specified already exists.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_INVAL:  Invalid argument for an operation.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_IO:  A hard error occurred while processing the requested
      operation.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NOSPC:  The requested operation would have caused the
      server's file system to exceed some limit (for example, if there
      is a fixed number of junctions per fileset or per server).
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NOTJUNCT:  The caller specified a path that does not end in
      a junction as the operand for an operation that requires the last
      component of the path to be a junction.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NOTLOCAL:  The caller specified a path that contains a
      junction in any position other than the last component.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_PERM:  The operation was not allowed because the caller is
      either not a privileged user or not the owner of an object that
      would be modified by the operation.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_ROFS:  A modifying operation was attempted on a read-only
      file system.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_SVRFAULT:  An unanticipated non-protocol error occurred on
      the server.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_ROUTE:  The fileserver was unable to find a route to
      the NSDB.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_DOWN:  The fileserver determined that the NSDB was
      down.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_CONN:  The fileserver was unable to establish a
      connection with the NSDB.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_AUTH:  The fileserver was unable to authenticate and
      establish a secure connection with the NSDB.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP:  A Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
      error occurred on the connection between the fileserver and NSDB.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_VAL:  Indicates the same error as
      FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP and allows the LDAP protocol error value to be
      returned back to an ADMIN protocol client.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NONCE:  The fileserver was unable to locate the NSDB
      Container Entry (NCE) in the appropriate NSDB.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NOFSN:  The fileserver was unable to locate the given
      FSN in the appropriate NSDB.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NOFSL:  The fileserver was unable to locate any FSLs
      for the given FSN in the appropriate NSDB.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_RESPONSE:  The fileserver received a malformed
      response from the NSDB.  This includes situations when an NSDB
      entry (e.g., FSN or FSL) is missing a required attribute.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_FAULT:  An unanticipated error related to the NSDB
      occurred.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS:  The fileserver does not have any connection
      parameters on record for the specified NSDB.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL:  The fileserver received an LDAP
      referral that it was unable to follow.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_VAL:  Indicates the same error as
      FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL and allows the LDAP protocol error
      value to be returned back to an ADMIN protocol client.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_NOTFOLLOWED:  The fileserver received an
      LDAP referral that it chose not to follow, either because the
      fileserver does not support following LDAP referrals or LDAP
      referral following is disabled.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS_LDAP_REFERRAL:  The fileserver received an LDAP
      referral that it chose not to follow because the fileserver had no
      NSDB parameters for the NSDB targeted by the LDAP referral.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_PATH_TYPE_UNSUPP:  The fileserver does not support the
      specified FedFsPathType value.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NOTSUPP:  The fileserver does not support the specified
      procedure.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_DELAY:  The fileserver initiated the request but was not
      able to complete it in a timely fashion.  The ADMIN protocol
      client should wait and then try the request with a new RPC
      transaction ID.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE:  The fileserver does not implement an FSN-to-FSL
      cache.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_UNKNOWN_CACHE:  The software receiving the ONC RPC request
      is unaware if the fileserver implements an FSN-to-FSL cache or is
      unable to communicate with the FSN-to-FSL cache if it exists.
   
   FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE_UPDATE:  The fileserver was unable to update its
      FSN-to-FSL cache.

4. Data Types

The basic data types defined above are formatted as follows:

   FedFsUuid:  A universally unique identifier (UUID) as described in
      [RFC4122] as a version 4 UUID.  The UUID MUST be formatted in
      network byte order.
   
   FedFsNsdbName:  A (hostname, port) pair.

The hostname is a variable-length UTF-8 string that represents an NSDB's network location in DNS name notation. It SHOULD be prepared using the domain name rules defined in Section 12.6 ("Types with Processing Defined by Other Internet Areas") of [RFC7530]. The DNS name MUST be represented using a fully qualified domain name.

The port value in the FedFsNsdbName indicates the LDAP port on the NSDB (see [RFC4511]). The value MUST be in the range 0 to 65535. A value of 0 indicates that the standard LDAP port number, 389, MUST be assumed.

FSNs are immutable and invariant. The attributes of an FSN, including the fedfsNsdbName, are expected to remain constant. Therefore, a FedFsNsdbName MUST NOT contain a network address, such as an IPv4 or IPv6 address, as this would indefinitely assign the network address.

   FedFsPathComponent:  A case-sensitive UTF-8 string containing a file
      system path component.  The component names of an NFSv4 pathname
      MUST be prepared using the component name rules defined in
      Section 12 ("Internationalization") of [RFC7530] prior to encoding
      the path component of an NFS URI.
   
   FedFsPathName:  A variable-length array of FedFsPathComponent values
      representing a file system path.  The path's first component is
      stored at the first position of the array, the second component is
      stored at the second position of the array, and so on.

The path "/" MUST be encoded as an array with zero components.

A FedFsPathName MUST NOT contain any zero-length components.

   FedFsPath:  A pathname container.  The format and semantics of the
      pathname are defined by the FedFsPathType value.
   
   FedFsPathType:  The type-specific description of a pathname.

A FEDFS_PATH_SYS is an implementation-dependent administrative pathname. For example, it could be a local file system path.

A FEDFS_PATH_NFS is a pathname in the NFSv4 server's single-server namespace.

   FedFsNsdbParams:  A set of parameters for connecting to an NSDB.
      Conceptually, the fileserver contains a data structure that maps
      an NSDB name (DNS name and port value) to these LDAP connection
      parameters.

The secType field indicates the security mechanism that MUST be used to protect all connections to the NSDB with the connection parameters.

A value of FEDFS_SEC_NONE indicates that a transport security mechanism MUST NOT be used when connecting to the NSDB. In this case, the secData array will have a length of zero.

A value of FEDFS_SEC_TLS indicates that the StartTLS security mechanism [RFC4513] MUST be used to protect all connections to the NSDB. In this case, the secData array will contain an X.509v3 root certificate in binary DER format [RFC5280] fulfilling the Transport Layer Security (TLS) requirement that root keys be distributed independently from the TLS protocol. The certificate MUST be used by the fileserver as a trust anchor to validate the NSDB's TLS server certificate list chain (see Section 7.4.2 of [RFC5246]) and thus authenticate the identity of the NSDB. The certificate could be that of a certificate authority or a self- signed certificate. To ensure that this security configuration information does not cause vulnerabilities for other services, trust anchors provided through secData MUST only be used for the NSDB service (as opposed to being installed as system-wide trust anchors for other services). Most popular TLS libraries provide ways in which this can be done, such as denoting a private file system location for the certificates.

4.1. FedFsNsdbName Equality

Two FedFsNsdbNames are considered equal if their respective hostname and port fields contain the same values. The only exception to this rule is that a value of 0 in the port field always matches the standard LDAP port number, 389.

Therefore, the FedFsNsdbName "(nsdb.example.com, 0)" is considered equal to "(nsdb.example.com, 389)" but not equal to "(nsdb.example.com, 1066)" since the port numbers are different or "(nsdb.foo.example.com, 389)" since the hostnames are different.

5. Procedures

The procedures defined in Section 2 are described in detail in the following sections.

Fileservers that participate as "internal" nodes in the federated namespace MUST implement the following procedures:

FEDFS_NULL
FEDFS_CREATE_JUNCTION
FEDFS_DELETE_JUNCTION
FEDFS_LOOKUP_JUNCTION
FEDFS_SET_NSDB_PARAMS
FEDFS_GET_NSDB_PARAMS
FEDFS_GET_LIMITED_NSDB_PARAMS

Furthermore, they SHOULD implement the following procedures:

FEDFS_CREATE_REPLICATION
FEDFS_DELETE_REPLICATION
FEDFS_LOOKUP_REPLICATION

Fileservers that participate as "leaf" nodes in the namespace (i.e., fileservers that host filesets that are the target of junctions but that do not contain any junctions) are not required to implement any of these operations.

Operations that modify the state of a replicated fileset MUST result in the update of all of the replicas in a consistent manner. Ideally, all of the replicas SHOULD be updated before any operation returns. If one or more of the replicas are unavailable, the operation MAY succeed, but the changes MUST be applied before the unavailable replicas are brought back online. We assume that replicas are updated via some protocol that permits state changes to be reflected consistently across the set of replicas in such a manner that the replicas will converge to a consistent state within a bounded number of successful message exchanges between the servers hosting the replicas.

5.1. FEDFS_NULL

5.1.1. Synopsis

The standard NULL procedure.

5.1.2. Description

The null RPC, which is included, by convention, in every ONC RPC protocol. This procedure does not take any arguments and does not produce a result.

5.1.3. Errors

None.

5.2. FEDFS_CREATE_JUNCTION

5.2.1. Synopsis

Create a new junction from some location on the server (defined as a pathname) to an FSN.

5.2.2. Description

This operation creates a junction from a server-relative path to a (potentially) remote fileset named by the given FSN.

The junction directory on the server is identified by a pathname in the form of an array of one or more UTF-8 path component strings. It is not required that this path be accessible in any other manner

(e.g., to a file-access client). This path does not appear in the federated namespace, except by coincidence; there is no requirement that the global namespace parallel the server namespace, nor is it required that this path be relative to the server pseudo-root. It does not need to be a path that is accessible via NFS (although the junction will be of limited utility if the directory specified by the path is not also accessible via NFS).

If the fileset is read-only, then this operation MUST indicate this with a status of FEDFS_ERR_ROFS.

If the path contains a character that is not supported by the server, then status FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR MUST be returned.

The path is REQUIRED to exist and be completely local to the server. It MUST NOT contain a junction. If the last component of the path is a junction (i.e., this operation is attempting to create a junction where one already exists), then this operation MUST return the error FEDFS_ERR_EXIST (even if the requested junction is identical to the current junction). If any other component of the path is a junction, then this operation MUST fail with status FEDFS_ERR_NOTLOCAL. The path might contain a symbolic link (if supported by the local server), but the traversal of the path MUST remain within the server- local namespace.

If any component of the path does not exist, then the operation MUST fail with status FEDFS_ERR_INVAL.

The server MAY enforce the local permissions on the path, including the final component. If a server wishes to report that a path cannot be traversed because of insufficient permissions, or the final component is an unexecutable or unwritable directory, then the operation MUST fail with status FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS.

The operation SHOULD fail with status FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS if the fileserver does not have any connection parameters on record for the specified NSDB, or the server may allow the operation to proceed using some set of default NSDB connection parameters.

The association between the path and the FSN MUST be durable before the operation returns successfully. If the operation return code indicates success, then the junction was successfully created and is immediately accessible.

If successful, subsequent references via NFSv4.0 [RFC7530] or NFSv4.1 [RFC5661] clients to the directory that has been replaced by the junction will result in a referral to a current location of the target fileset [RFC7532].

The effective permissions of the directory that is converted, by this operation, into a junction are the permissions of the root directory of the target fileset. The original permissions of the directory (and any other attributes it might have) are subsumed by the junction.

This operation does not create a fileset at the location targeted by the junction. If the target fileset does not exist, the junction will still be created. An NFS client will discover the missing fileset when it traverses the junction.

5.2.3. Errors

FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS
FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR
FEDFS_ERR_BADNAME
FEDFS_ERR_NAMETOOLONG
FEDFS_ERR_LOOP
FEDFS_ERR_BADXDR
FEDFS_ERR_EXIST
FEDFS_ERR_INVAL
FEDFS_ERR_IO
FEDFS_ERR_NOSPC
FEDFS_ERR_NOTLOCAL
FEDFS_ERR_PERM
FEDFS_ERR_ROFS
FEDFS_ERR_SVRFAULT
FEDFS_ERR_PATH_TYPE_UNSUPP
FEDFS_ERR_NOTSUPP
FEDFS_ERR_DELAY

5.3. FEDFS_DELETE_JUNCTION

5.3.1. Synopsis

Delete an existing junction from some location on the server (defined as a pathname).

5.3.2. Description

This operation removes a junction specified by a server-relative path.

As with FEDFS_CREATE_JUNCTION, the junction on the server is identified by a pathname in the form of an array of one or more UTF-8 path component strings. It is not required that this path be accessible in any other manner (e.g., to a file-access client). This path does not appear in the federated namespace, except by coincidence; there is no requirement that the global namespace reflect the server namespace, nor is it required that this path be relative to the server pseudo-root. It does not need to be a path that is accessible via NFS.

If the fileset is read-only, then this operation MUST indicate this with a status of FEDFS_ERR_ROFS.

If the path contains a character that is not supported by the server, then status FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR MUST be returned.

The path used to delete a junction might not be the same path that was used to create the junction. If the namespace on the server has changed, then the junction might now appear at a different path than where it was created. If there is more than one valid path to the junction, any of them can be used.

The path is REQUIRED to exist and be completely local to the server. It MUST NOT contain a junction, except as the final component, which MUST be a junction. If any other component of the path is a junction, then this operation MUST fail with status FEDFS_ERR_NOTLOCAL. If the last component of the path is not a junction, then this operation MUST return status FEDFS_ERR_NOTJUNCT. The path might contain a symbolic link (if supported by the local server), but the traversal of the path MUST remain within the server- local namespace.

The removal of the association between the path and the FSN MUST be durable before the operation returns successfully. If the operation return code indicates success, then the junction was successfully destroyed.

The effective permissions and other attributes of the directory that is restored by this operation SHOULD be identical to their value prior to the creation of the junction.

After removal of the junction, the fileserver MAY check if any of its existing junctions reference the NSDB specified in the removed junction's FSN. If the NSDB is not referenced, the fileserver MAY delete the connection parameters of the unreferenced NSDB.

5.3.3. Errors

5.4. FEDFS_LOOKUP_JUNCTION

5.4.1. Synopsis

Query the server to discover the current value of the junction (if any) at a given path in the server namespace.

5.4.2. Description

This operation queries a server to determine whether a given path ends in a junction. If it does, the FSN to which the junction refers and the fileserver's ability to resolve the junction is returned.

Ordinary NFSv4 operations do not provide any general mechanism to determine whether an object is a junction -- there is no encoding specified by the NFSv4 protocol that can represent this information.

As with FEDFS_CREATE_JUNCTION, the pathname MUST be in the form of an array of one or more UTF-8 path component strings. It is not required that this path be accessible in any other manner (e.g., to a file-access client). This path does not appear in the federated namespace, except by coincidence; there is no requirement that the global namespace reflect the server namespace, nor is it required that this path be relative to the server pseudo-root. It does not need to be a path that is accessible via NFS.

If the path contains a character that is not supported by the server, then status FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR MUST be returned.

The path used to look up a junction might not be the same path that was used to create the junction. If the namespace on the server has changed, then a junction might now appear at a different path than where it was created. If there is more than one valid path to the junction, any of them might be used.

The path is REQUIRED to exist and be completely local to the server. It MUST NOT contain a junction, except as the final component. If any other component of the path is a junction, then this operation MUST fail with status FEDFS_ERR_NOTLOCAL. If the last component of the path is not a junction, then this operation MUST return the status FEDFS_ERR_NOTJUNCT. The path might contain a symbolic link (if supported by the local server), but the traversal of the path MUST remain within the server-local namespace.

If the junction exists, the resolve parameter allows for testing the fileserver's ability to resolve the junction. If the junction does not exist, the fileserver will ignore the resolve parameter.

If the junction exists and the resolve parameter is set to FEDFS_RESOLVE_NONE, the fileserver MUST NOT attempt to resolve the FSN. This will allow an administrator to obtain the junction's FSN even if the resolution would fail. Therefore, on success, the result of a FEDFS_RESOLVE_NONE call will return a zero-length fsl list in the FedFsLookupResOk structure.

If the junction exists and the resolve parameter is set to FEDFS_RESOLVE_CACHE, the fileserver MUST attempt to resolve the FSN using its FSL cache, if one exists. The fileserver MUST NOT resolve the FSN by contacting the appropriate NSDB. If the fileserver's cache does not have a mapping for the FSN in question, the result of the operation MUST be FEDFS_OK with 0 elements in the FedFsLookupResOk structure's fsl array. The operation MAY fail with status FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE if the fileserver does not contain an FSN- to-FSL cache or with status FEDFS_ERR_UNKNOWN_CACHE if the state of the cache is unknown.

If the junction exists and the resolve parameter is set to FEDFS_RESOLVE_NSDB, the fileserver MUST attempt to resolve the FSN by contacting the appropriate NSDB. The FSN MUST NOT be resolved using cached information. The resolution MAY fail with FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_ROUTE, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_DOWN, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_CONN,

   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_AUTH, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_VAL,
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NOFSN, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NOFSL, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NONCE,
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_RESPONSE, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_FAULT,
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_VAL,
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_NOTFOLLOWED, or
   FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS_LDAP_REFERRAL, depending on the nature of the
   failure.

In the case of an LDAP failure, the fileserver MUST return either FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP or FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_VAL. FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP indicates that an LDAP protocol error occurred during the resolution. FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_VAL also indicates that an LDAP protocol error occurred during the resolution and allows the LDAP protocol error value to be returned in the FedFsLookupRes's ldapResultCode field (see the resultCode values in Section 4.1.9 of [RFC4511]).

If the NSDB responds with an LDAP referral, either the Referral type defined in Section 4.1.10 of [RFC4511] or the SearchResultReference type defined in Section 4.5.3 of [RFC4511], the fileserver SHOULD process the LDAP referral using the same policies as the fileserver's file-access protocol server. The fileserver MUST indicate a failure while processing the LDAP referral using FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_VAL, FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_NOTFOLLOWED, or FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS_LDAP_REFERRAL. The FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_VAL is analogous to the FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_VAL error and allows the LDAP protocol error value to be returned in the FedFsLookupResReferralVal's ldapResultCode field. The FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL and FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS_LDAP_REFERRAL errors allow the NSDB targeted by the LDAP referral to be returned in the FedFsLookupRes's targetNsdb field. Similarly, the FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_VAL error includes this information in the FedFsLookupResReferralVal's targetNsdb.

If the fileserver has a cache of FSL records, the process of resolving an FSN using an NSDB SHOULD result in the cache being updated. A failure to update the cache MAY be indicated with the FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE_UPDATE status value, or the operation may complete successfully.

When updating the cache, new FSLs for the given FSN SHOULD be added to the cache, and deleted FSLs SHOULD be removed from the cache. This behavior is desirable because it allows an administrator to proactively request that the fileserver refresh its FSL cache. For example, an administrator might like to refresh the fileserver's cache when changes are made to an FSN's FSLs.

If the junction is resolved, the fileserver will include a list of UUIDs for the FSN's FSLs in the FedFsLookupResOk structure's fsl array.

5.4.3. Errors

FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS
FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR
FEDFS_ERR_BADNAME
FEDFS_ERR_NAMETOOLONG
FEDFS_ERR_LOOP
FEDFS_ERR_BADXDR
FEDFS_ERR_INVAL
FEDFS_ERR_IO
FEDFS_ERR_NOTJUNCT
FEDFS_ERR_NOTLOCAL
FEDFS_ERR_PERM
FEDFS_ERR_SVRFAULT
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_ROUTE
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_DOWN
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_CONN
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_AUTH
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_VAL
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NONCE
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NOFSN
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_NOFSL
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_RESPONSE
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_FAULT
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_VAL FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_NOTFOLLOWED FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS_LDAP_REFERRAL FEDFS_ERR_PATH_TYPE_UNSUPP
FEDFS_ERR_NOTSUPP
FEDFS_ERR_DELAY
FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE
FEDFS_ERR_UNKNOWN_CACHE
FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE_UPDATE

5.5. FEDFS_CREATE_REPLICATION

5.5.1. Synopsis

Set an FSN representing the replication information for the fileset containing the pathname.

5.5.2. Description

This operation indicates the replication information to be returned for a particular fileset. An NFSv4 client might request fs_locations or fs_locations_info at any time to detect other copies of this fileset, and this operation supports this by supplying the FSN the fileserver should use to respond. This FSN should be associated with the entire fileset in which the path resides and should be used to satisfy fs_locations or fs_locations_info attribute requests whenever no junction is being accessed; if a junction is being accessed, the FSN specified by FEDFS_CREATE_JUNCTION will take precedence. Setting the replication FSN on a fileset that already has a replication FSN set is allowed.

This operation differs from FEDFS_CREATE_JUNCTION in that it controls a fileset-wide attribute not associated with a junction.

The server SHOULD permit this operation even on read-only filesets but MUST return FEDFS_ERR_ROFS if this is not possible.

If the path contains a character that is not supported by the server, then status FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR MUST be returned.

The path is REQUIRED to exist and be completely local to the server. It MUST NOT contain a junction. If any component of the path is a junction, then this operation MUST fail with status FEDFS_ERR_NOTLOCAL. The path might contain a symbolic link (if supported by the local server), but the traversal of the path MUST remain within the server-local namespace.

The same FSN value SHOULD be associated with all replicas of a file system. Depending on the underlying representation, the FSN associated with a file system might or might not be replicated automatically with the file system replication mechanism. Therefore, if FEDFS_CREATE_REPLICATION is used on one replica of a file system, it SHOULD be used on all replicas.

5.5.3. Errors

5.6. FEDFS_DELETE_REPLICATION

5.6.1. Synopsis

Remove the replication information for the fileset containing the pathname.

5.6.2. Description

This operation removes any replication information from the fileset in which the path resides, such that NFSv4 client requests for fs_locations or fs_locations_info in the absence of a junction will not be satisfied.

This operation differs from FEDFS_DELETE_JUNCTION in that it controls a fileset-wide attribute not associated with a junction.

The server SHOULD permit this operation even on read-only filesets but MUST return FEDFS_ERR_ROFS if this is not possible.

If the path contains a character that is not supported by the server, then status FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR MUST be returned.

5.6.3. Errors

5.7. FEDFS_LOOKUP_REPLICATION

5.7.1. Synopsis

Query the server to discover the current replication information (if any) at the given path.

5.7.2. Description

This operation queries a server to determine whether a fileset containing the given path has replication information associated with it. If it does, the FSN for that replication information is returned.

This operation differs from FEDFS_LOOKUP_JUNCTION in that it inquires about a fileset-wide attribute not associated with a junction.

If the path contains a character that is not supported by the server, then status FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR MUST be returned.

Interpretation of the resolve parameter and the procedure's results shall be the same as specified in Section 5.4 for the FEDFS_LOOKUP_JUNCTION operation.

5.7.3. Errors

FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_VAL FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_LDAP_REFERRAL_NOTFOLLOWED FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS_LDAP_REFERRAL FEDFS_ERR_PATH_TYPE_UNSUPP
FEDFS_ERR_NOTSUPP
FEDFS_ERR_DELAY
FEDFS_ERR_NO_CACHE
FEDFS_ERR_UNKNOWN_CACHE

5.8. FEDFS_SET_NSDB_PARAMS

5.8.1. Synopsis

Set the connection parameters for the specified NSDB.

5.8.2. Description

This operation allows an administrator to set the connection parameters for a given NSDB.

If a record for the given NSDB does not exist, a new record is created with the specified connection parameters.

If a record for the given NSDB does exist, the existing connection parameters are replaced with the specified connection parameters.

An NSDB is specified using a FedFsNsdbName. The rules in Section 4.1 define when two FedFsNsdbNames are considered equal.

The given NSDB need not be referenced by any junctions on the fileserver. This situation will occur when connection parameters for a new NSDB are installed.

The format of the connection parameters is described in Section 4.

On success, this operation returns FEDFS_OK. When the operation returns, the new connection parameters SHOULD be used for all subsequent LDAP connections to the given NSDB. Existing connections MAY be terminated and re-established using the new connection parameters. The connection parameters SHOULD be durable across fileserver reboots.

On failure, an error value indicating the type of error is returned. If the operation's associated user does not have sufficient permissions to create/modify NSDB connection parameters, the operation MUST return FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS.

5.8.3. Errors

FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS
FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR
FEDFS_ERR_BADNAME
FEDFS_ERR_BADXDR
FEDFS_ERR_INVAL
FEDFS_ERR_IO
FEDFS_ERR_NOSPC
FEDFS_ERR_SVRFAULT
FEDFS_ERR_NOTSUPP
FEDFS_ERR_DELAY

5.9. FEDFS_GET_NSDB_PARAMS

5.9.1. Synopsis

Get the connection parameters for the specified NSDB.

5.9.2. Description

This operations allows an administrator to retrieve connection parameters, if they exist, for the given NSDB.

An NSDB is specified using a FedFsNsdbName. The rules in Section 4.1 define when two FedFsNsdbNames are considered equal.

A set of connection parameters is considered a match if their associated NSDB is equal (as defined in Section 4.1) to the operation's NSDB argument. Therefore, there is at most one set of connection parameters that can match the query described by this operation.

The format of the connection parameters is described in Section 4.

On success, this operation returns FEDFS_OK and the connection parameters on record for the given NSDB.

On failure, an error value indicating the type of error is returned. This operation MUST return FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS to indicate that there are no connection parameters on record for the given NSDB. If the operation's associated user does not have sufficient permissions to view NSDB connection parameters, the operation MUST return FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS.

5.9.3. Errors

FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS
FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR
FEDFS_ERR_BADNAME
FEDFS_ERR_BADXDR
FEDFS_ERR_INVAL
FEDFS_ERR_IO
FEDFS_ERR_SVRFAULT
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS
FEDFS_ERR_NOTSUPP
FEDFS_ERR_DELAY

5.10. FEDFS_GET_LIMITED_NSDB_PARAMS

5.10.1. Synopsis

Get a limited subset of the connection parameters for the specified NSDB.

5.10.2. Description

This operation allows an administrator to retrieve a limited subset of information on the connection parameters, if they exist, for the given NSDB.

An NSDB is specified using a FedFsNsdbName. The rules in Section 4.1 define when two FedFsNsdbNames are considered equal.

This operation returns a limited subset of the connection parameters. Only the FedFsConnectionSec mechanism that is used to protect communication between the fileserver and NSDB is returned.

Viewing the limited subset of NSDB connection parameters returned by FEDFS_GET_LIMITED_NSDB_PARAMS MAY be a less privileged operation than viewing the entire set of NSDB connection parameters returned by FEDFS_GET_NSDB_PARAMS. For example, the full contents of an NSDB's connection parameters could contain sensitive information for some security mechanisms. FEDFS_GET_LIMITED_NSDB_PARAMS allows the fileserver to communicate a subset of the connection parameters (the security mechanism) to users with sufficient permissions without revealing more sensitive information.

On success, this operation returns FEDFS_OK and the FedFsConnectionSec value on record for the given NSDB.

On failure, an error value indicating the type of error is returned. This operation MUST return FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS to indicate that there are no connection parameters on record for the given NSDB. If the operation's associated user does not have sufficient permissions to view the subset of NSDB connection parameters returned by this procedure, the operation MUST return FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS.

5.10.3. Errors

FEDFS_ERR_ACCESS
FEDFS_ERR_BADCHAR
FEDFS_ERR_BADNAME
FEDFS_ERR_BADXDR
FEDFS_ERR_INVAL
FEDFS_ERR_IO
FEDFS_ERR_SVRFAULT
FEDFS_ERR_NSDB_PARAMS
FEDFS_ERR_NOTSUPP
FEDFS_ERR_DELAY

6. Security Considerations

The security considerations of [RFC5531] apply to the protocol described in this document. The ONC RPC protocol supports authentication, integrity, and privacy via the RPCSEC_GSS framework [RFC2203]. Fileservers that support the FedFS administration protocol described in this document MUST support RPCSEC_GSS.

As with NFSv4.1 (see Section 2.2.1.1.1.1 of [RFC5661]), FedFS administration protocol clients and servers MUST support RPCSEC_GSS's integrity and authentication services. FedFS administration protocol servers MUST support RPCSEC_GSS's privacy service. FedFS administration protocol clients SHOULD support RPCSEC_GSS's privacy service. When RPCSEC_GSS is employed on behalf of the FedFS administration protocol, RPCSEC_GSS data integrity SHOULD be used.

It is strongly RECOMMENDED that an Access Control Service be employed to restrict access to a fileserver's FedFS administration configuration data via the FedFS administrative protocol to prevent FedFS namespace corruption and protect NSDB communication parameters.

For example, when the FedFsNsdbParams secType field value FEDFS_SEC_TLS is chosen, the payload is used to provision the trust anchor root certificate for TLS secure communication between the fileserver and the NSDB. In this case, RPCSEC_GSS with data integrity SHOULD be employed along with an Access Control Service to restrict access to domain administrators.

FEDFS_GET_LIMITED_NSDB_PARAMS's interaction with the NSDB's connection parameters is discussed in Section 5.10.2.

7. IANA Considerations

A range of ONC RPC program numbers were assigned for use by FedFS using the procedure described in Section 8.3 ("Program Number Assignment") of [RFC5531]. The FedFS range is:

IETF NFSv4 Working Group - FedFS 100418 - 100421

Program 100418 has been removed from the reserved FedFS range and assigned to version 1 of the ONC RPC program (100418) described in this document with the short name "fedfs_admin", a Description of "FedFS Administration", and a reference to RFC 7533.

8. References

8.1. Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
   
   [RFC2203]  Eisler, M., Chiu, A., and L. Ling, "RPCSEC_GSS Protocol
              Specification", RFC 2203, September 1997,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2203>.
   
   [RFC4122]  Leach, P., Mealling, M., and R. Salz, "A Universally
              Unique IDentifier (UUID) URN Namespace", RFC 4122, July
              2005, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4122>.
   
   [RFC4506]  Eisler, M., Ed., "XDR: External Data Representation
              Standard", STD 67, RFC 4506, May 2006,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4506>.
   
   [RFC4511]  Sermersheim, J., Ed., "Lightweight Directory Access
              Protocol (LDAP): The Protocol", RFC 4511, June 2006,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4511>.
   
   [RFC4513]  Harrison, R., Ed., "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
              (LDAP): Authentication Methods and Security Mechanisms",
              RFC 4513, June 2006,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4513>.
   
   [RFC5246]  Dierks, T. and E. Rescorla, "The Transport Layer Security
              (TLS) Protocol Version 1.2", RFC 5246, August 2008,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5246>.
   
   [RFC5280]  Cooper, D., Santesson, S., Farrell, S., Boeyen, S.,
              Housley, R., and W. Polk, "Internet X.509 Public Key
              Infrastructure Certificate and Certificate Revocation List
              (CRL) Profile", RFC 5280, May 2008,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5280>.
   
   [RFC5531]  Thurlow, R., "RPC: Remote Procedure Call Protocol
              Specification Version 2", RFC 5531, May 2009,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5531>.
   
   [RFC7530]  Haynes, T., Ed. and D. Noveck, Ed., "Network File System
              (NFS) Version 4 Protocol", RFC 7530, March 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7530>.

8.2. Informative References

   [MS-CIFS]  Microsoft Corporation, "Common Internet File System (CIFS)
              Protocol Specification", MS-CIFS 24.0, May 2014.
   
   [MS-SMB]   Microsoft Corporation, "Server Message Block (SMB)
              Protocol Specification", MS-SMB 43.0, May 2014.
   
   [MS-SMB2]  Microsoft Corporation, "Server Message Block (SMB) Version
              2 Protocol Specification", MS-SMB2 46.0, May 2014.
   
   [RFC5661]  Shepler, S., Ed., Eisler, M., Ed., and D. Noveck, Ed.,
              "Network File System (NFS) Version 4 Minor Version 1
              Protocol", RFC 5661, January 2010,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5661>.
   
   [RFC5662]  Shepler, S., Ed., Eisler, M., Ed., and D. Noveck, Ed.,
              "Network File System (NFS) Version 4 Minor Version 1
              External Data Representation Standard (XDR) Description",
              RFC 5662, January 2010,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5662>.
   
   [RFC5716]  Lentini, J., Everhart, C., Ellard, D., Tewari, R., and M.
              Naik, "Requirements for Federated File Systems", RFC 5716,
              January 2010, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5716>.
   
   [RFC7532]  Lentini, J., Tewari, R., and C. Lever, Ed., "Namespace
              Database (NSDB) Protocol for Federated File Systems", RFC
              7532, March 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7532>.

Acknowledgments

Daniel Ellard contributed significant parts of this document.

The authors and editor would like to thank Craig Everhart and Manoj Naik, who were co-authors of an earlier draft version of this document. In addition, we would like to thank Paul Lemahieu, Mario Wurzl, and Robert Thurlow for helping to author this document.

We would like to thank Trond Myklebust for suggesting improvements to the FSL pathname format, David Noveck for his suggestions on internationalization and path encoding rules, and Nicolas Williams for his suggestions.

The editor gratefully acknowledges the IESG reviewers, whose constructive comments helped make this a much stronger document.

Finally, we would like to thank Andy Adamson, Rob Thurlow, and Tom Haynes for helping to get this document out the door.

The extract.sh shell script and formatting conventions were first described by the authors of the NFSv4.1 XDR specification [RFC5662].

Authors' Addresses

   James Lentini
   NetApp
   1601 Trapelo Rd, Suite 16
   Waltham, MA  02451
   United States
   
   Phone: +1 781-768-5359
   EMail: jlentini@netapp.com
   
   Renu Tewari
   IBM Almaden
   650 Harry Rd
   San Jose, CA  95120
   United States
   
   EMail: tewarir@us.ibm.com
   
   Charles Lever (editor)
   Oracle Corporation
   1015 Granger Avenue
   Ann Arbor, MI  48104
   United States
   
   Phone: +1 248-614-5091
   EMail: chuck.lever@oracle.com

Administration Protocol for Federated File Systems

Abstract

Status of This Memo

Copyright Notice

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Definitions

1.2. Requirements Language

2. Protocol

3. Error Values

4. Data Types

4.1. FedFsNsdbName Equality

5. Procedures

5.1. FEDFS_NULL

5.1.1. Synopsis

5.1.2. Description

5.1.3. Errors

5.2. FEDFS_CREATE_JUNCTION

5.2.1. Synopsis

5.2.2. Description

5.2.3. Errors

5.3. FEDFS_DELETE_JUNCTION

5.3.1. Synopsis

5.3.2. Description

5.3.3. Errors

5.4. FEDFS_LOOKUP_JUNCTION

5.4.1. Synopsis

5.4.2. Description

5.4.3. Errors

5.5. FEDFS_CREATE_REPLICATION

5.5.1. Synopsis

5.5.2. Description

5.5.3. Errors

5.6. FEDFS_DELETE_REPLICATION

5.6.1. Synopsis

5.6.2. Description

5.6.3. Errors

5.7. FEDFS_LOOKUP_REPLICATION

5.7.1. Synopsis

5.7.2. Description

5.7.3. Errors

5.8. FEDFS_SET_NSDB_PARAMS

5.8.1. Synopsis

5.8.2. Description

5.8.3. Errors

5.9. FEDFS_GET_NSDB_PARAMS

5.9.1. Synopsis

5.9.2. Description

5.9.3. Errors

5.10. FEDFS_GET_LIMITED_NSDB_PARAMS

5.10.1. Synopsis

5.10.2. Description

5.10.3. Errors

6. Security Considerations

7. IANA Considerations

8. References

8.1. Normative References

8.2. Informative References

Acknowledgments

Authors' Addresses