Re: [PATCH] nvme: Remove namespace when nvme_identify_ns_descs() failed

Hannes Reinecke
2024-12-05T12:35:48Z

On 12/4/24 17:39, Keith Busch wrote:
> On Wed, Dec 04, 2024 at 08:14:08AM +0100, Hannes Reinecke wrote:
>> On 12/3/24 20:15, Keith Busch wrote:
>>> On Fri, Nov 29, 2024 at 03:06:08PM +0100, Hannes Reinecke wrote:
>>>> When a namespace gets unmapped on the target during scanning
>>>> nvme_identify_ns_descs() returns with a non-retryable error.
>>>> With the currrent code we will ignore that error on the grounds
>>>> that we failed to get information, and hence cannot make any
>>>> decisions whether to keep or remove that namespace.
>>>> But a non-retryable error implies that the namespace is _not_
>>>> present as we cannot retry that command and will never get
>>>> information about that namespace.
>>>> And we need to remove the namespace during scanning, as otherwise
>>>> the AEN informing us about a namespace change will find the NSID
>>>> present, but nvme_validate_ns() will fail, and the namespace
>>>> will never be updated with the correct information.
>>>
>>> The scanning only checks namespaces returned in the "active" namespace
>>> list. Every namespace not in the active list gets removed already. Why
>>> is this unmapped namespace appearing on the active list?
>>
>> Timing. Imagine a system used as a backing store for kubernetes, where
>> namespaces come and go at a _really_ fast pace.
>> 1) AEN triggers a rescan
>> 2) List of active namespace is retrieved
>> -> NSID A gets unmapped (or moved to another node in the cluster)
>> 3) Scan of NSID A returns an error with DNR set.
>> Without this patch we keep the namespace around, so eventually we'll
>> trip over the 'non-matching UUID' check once the NSID is reused.
>
> I'm still not sure that makes sense. The target shouldn't attach the new
> namespace until the host acknowledges the removal of the older NSID via
> the Namespace Change List log. Until the log is read, the inventory for
> removed namespaces should be latched. Otherwise, timing might remove+add
> a specific NSID before the host requests the NS Descriptor for the
> racing removal, then it would just get the "non-matching UUID" issue
> anyway.

But we read the Namespace Change List log in step 2)
(Not that we're doing anything with it, but that's another story...)
Hmm?

Cheers,

Hannes
--
Dr. Hannes Reinecke Kernel Storage Architect
hare@suse.de +49 911 74053 688
SUSE Software Solutions GmbH, Frankenstr. 146, 90461 Nürnberg
HRB 36809 (AG Nürnberg), GF: I. Totev, A. McDonald, W. Knoblich