[lxc-devel] RFC: Device Namespaces

[Eric W. Biederman]

Amir Goldstein <amir at cellrox.com> writes:

> On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 7:50 PM, Eric W. Biederman
> <ebiederm at xmission.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Eric,
>
> If we can get people to take a quick look at the code before LPC
> that could make the LPC discussions more effective.
> Even looking at one of the subsystem patches can give a basic
> idea of the work we have done:
> https://github.com/Cellrox/linux/commits/devns-goldfish-3.4
>
>     I think you are talking about having wrappers around your devices
>     so you
>     can share.  Which is not the quite same problem the rest of us
>     have been
>     thinking of when talking about a device namespace.
>
> We are interested in all problems related to virtualizated view of
> devices
> inside a container, so let our work so far be a starting point to
> discuss all of them.
>
>     My first impression is that this is better solved with more
>     appropriate
>     abstractions in userspace or in the kernel.

As I read your code, you are solving the problem of one opener of a
device among a group of openers being able to access a device at a time.
Which leads to the question why can't the multiplexing happen in
userspace?

I think with your design it would not be possible to play a song in one
device namespace while doing work in the other.  As a security model
that isn't wrong but as someone trying to get work done that could be a
real pain.

The more common concern is to have devices we can use all of the time.

There may be a need for a device namespace and multiplexing access to
hardware devices makes that clearer.  So far nothing has risen to the
level of we actually need a device namespace to do X.  Especially in an
erra of hotplug and dynamic device numbers.

It is arguable that you could do your kind of device multiplexing with a
fuse device in userspace that implements your desired policy.

And policy is where cell situtation seems to fall down because it hard
codes one specific policy into the kernel, and a policy most situations
don't find useful.

Eric