Re: [nfsv4] Extended Attributes NFSv4

> The NFSv4 WG rejected the idea of using extended attributes that were
specified in the rfc 8276.

I don't  think the working group considered and rejected the idea using
extended attributes,   Making a decision like that is way too organized for
an IETF working group, especally given that we had ten minutes to devote to
the topic.

Nevertheless, many members seemed to feel Sorin's attributes were not a
good fit for the xattrs in rfc 8276, and, while I can't speak for the
group, I'd like to explain while I felt that way.

rfc8276 defines a mechanism to provide for user xattrs, i.e. those that are
totally opaque to the server and which the server essentially treats pretty
much as user data.    In many cases we do have items which are system
xattrs in Linux (e.g. IMA metadata).  Thse are typically handled as
ordinary optional attributes.    This works OK since the set of OPTIONAL
attributes can be easily extended, as described in RFC 8178.

> It seems nobody implemented xattr per the rfc.

It appears that implementation has lagged.  I'm not sure why.   In any
case, I don't feel that the decision about whether xattrs should be used
for the data reduction attributes should turn on the pace of
implementationof the xattr feature.

> If you have any plans for that please let the NFSv4 WG know sending this
email to the nfsv4 list I added here.

I certainly would like to know about such plans.   It is hard to invest in
server-side implementations of a feature when there are no client-side
implementations in the horizon.

On Tue, Jul 30, 2019 at 11:47 AM <Faibish.Sorin@dell.com> wrote:

> Victor,
>
>
>
> Just to keep you expectations low, the NFSv4 WG rejected the idea of using
> extended attributes that were specified in the rfc 8276. It seems nobody
> implemented xattr per the rfc. If you have any plans for that please let
> the NFSv4 WG know sending this email to the nfsv4 list I added here. Thanks
>
>
>
> ./Sorin
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Victor A Asencio Casiano <victor.asencio@upr.edu>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, July 30, 2019 10:43 AM
> *To:* faibish, sorin; Shilane, Philip; Black, David
> *Cc:* manoj.naik@nutanix.com; eshel@us.ibm.com
> *Subject:* Extended Attributes NFSv4
>
>
>
> [EXTERNAL EMAIL]
>
> Good morning, I’m currently interested in adding extended attributes to
> NFSv4 and I would like if you can send me in the right direction. RFC 8276
> and your draft (Support for Data Reduction Extended Attributes in nfsv4
> Version 2) are the only serious documents that I found about this topic. I
> would like to know if Extended Attributes have been already implemented
> somewhere that I can test it out, or If someone try to implement this
> before or any source code that I can reach out or any draft code? Besides
> the code portions that appears on RFC 8276.
>
>
>
> Thanks for your help.
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