Re: [PATCH 0/7] containers (V7): Generic Process Containers

Sam Vilain
2007-02-20T21:58:49Z

Paul Menage wrote:
>> Using the container name is bad and it led to this stupid argument.
>>
>> The fundamental unit of what we have merged into the kernel is the
>> namespace. The aggregate of all namespaces and everything is the
>> container.
>>
> What are you defining here as "everything"? If you mean "all things
> that could be applied to a segregated group of processes such as a
> virtual server",

The term "segregated group of processes" is too vague. Segregated for
what? What is the kernel supposed to do with this information?

> I guess what it comes down to, is why is an aggregation of namespaces
> suitable for the name "container", when an aggregation of namespaces
> and other resource controllers isn't?
>

This argument goes away if you just rename these resource groups to
resource namespaces.

> What do you think might be a better name for the generic process
> groups that I'm pushing? As I said, I'm happy to do a simple
> search/replace on my code to give a different name if that turned out
> to be the gating factor to getting it merged. But I'd be inclined to
> leave that decision up to Andrew/Linus.
>

Did you like the names I came up with in my original reply?

- CPUset namespace for CPU partitioning
- Resource namespaces:
- cpusched namespace for CPU
- ulimit namespace for memory
- quota namespace for disk space
- io namespace for disk activity
- etc

>> For the case of namespaces I don't see how your code makes things
>> better. I do not see a real problem that you are solving.
>>
> I'm trying to solve the problem that lots of different folks
> (including us) are trying to do things that aggregate multiple process
> into some kind of constrained group, and are all trying to use
> different and incompatible ways of grouping/tracking those processes.
>

Maybe what's missing is a set of helper macros/functions that assist
with writing new namespaces. Perhaps you can give some more examples
and we can consider these on a case by case basis.

Sam.