Rust block device driver APIs
Subsystems (2)
Hi All,
I would like to propose a session on the Rust block device driver APIs.
I submitted the APIs along with a simple null block driver as an RFC last year [1]. Since then I have kept the code in sync with latest mainline release [2], cleaned up the code, and added a few features.
After talking to some of you at various meetups over the past year, I think we have reached a point where we can potentially agree on merging initial Rust block layer support, along with the null block driver. To that end, I plan to send a few iterations of the patch set before LSF in May, so that we can use the session to discuss any remaining details.
Since Kent has also proposed a dedicated Rust session, we might find some synergy with this topic [3].
I also maintain an NVMe driver based on the Rust block APIs [4]. Due to community feedback, I have no plans for upstreaming this driver at the moment. However, it is a valuable tool for designing a sensible Rust block device API that is suitable real hardware.
Part of the NVMe patches are abstractions for PCI. Other users (drm) have expressed interest in these, so I plan to separate these in their own tree to make them easier to pick up for those users.
As a last note, I have recently become aware of ongoing work on implementing nbd in Rust. The work looks promising, and I hope the author will decide to send the patches, when they are ready to be shared.
Best regards
Andreas Hindborg
[1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/
[2] https://rust-for-linux.com/null-block-driver
[3] https://lore.kernel.org/all/wjtuw2m3ojn7m6gx2ozyqtvlsetzwxv5hdhg2hocal3gyou3ue@34e37oox4d5m/
[4] https://rust-for-linux.com/nvme-driver
Quoted 22 lines · Andreas Hindborg (Samsung)
Hi All,
I would like to propose a session on the Rust block device driver APIs.
I submitted the APIs along with a simple null block driver as an RFC last year [1]. Since then I have kept the code in sync with latest mainline release [2], cleaned up the code, and added a few features.
After talking to some of you at various meetups over the past year, I think we have reached a point where we can potentially agree on merging initial Rust block layer support, along with the null block driver. To that end, I plan to send a few iterations of the patch set before LSF in May, so that we can use the session to discuss any remaining details.
Since Kent has also proposed a dedicated Rust session, we might find some synergy with this topic [3].
I also maintain an NVMe driver based on the Rust block APIs [4]. Due to community feedback, I have no plans for upstreaming this driver at the moment. However, it is a valuable tool for designing a sensible Rust block device API that is suitable real hardware.
Quoted 9 lines
Part of the NVMe patches are abstractions for PCI. Other users (drm) have expressed interest in these, so I plan to separate these in their own tree to make them easier to pick up for those users.
As a last note, I have recently become aware of ongoing work on implementing nbd in Rust. The work looks promising, and I hope the author will decide to send the patches, when they are ready to be shared.
And I had an intern converting nbd to rust, which I could present as a proof-of-concept.
Or, rather, as a showcase how a (pretty basic) Rust driver would look like. Idea is to have a side-by-side comparison and figure out if
a) writing driver in Rust would simplify the code
b) existing/requiring functionality can be matched
or, in short, if Rust lives up to its promises.
Cheers,
Hannes
Signature · 5 lines
Dr. Hannes Reinecke Kernel Storage Architect [email protected] +49 911 74053 688 SUSE Software Solutions GmbH, Maxfeldstr. 5, 90409 Nürnberg HRB 36809 (AG Nürnberg), GF: Ivo Totev, Andrew McDonald, Werner Knoblich