Internet-Draft VLDB_CAPABILITY_LOCKTIMESTAMP August 2023
Barbosa Expires 25 February 2024 [Page]
Workgroup:
Internet Engineering Task Force
Internet-Draft:
draft-barbosa-afs3-vldb-locktimestamp-00
Published:
Intended Status:
Informational
Expires:
Author:
M. Barbosa
Sine Nomine Associates

Repurpose spares2 Field for Volume Lock Timestamp in nvldbentry and uvldbentry

Abstract

This document proposes the repurposing of the currently unused spares2 field within the nvldbentry and uvldbentry structures. The primary objective is to utilize this field for storing the timestamp representing the date and time when a given volume location entry was locked. To make this possible, this memo requests the allocation of a new capability bit, VLDB_CAPABILITY_LOCKTIMESTAMP, to be advertised by the Volume Location Server. When advertised, this bit indicates that the server has the capacity to provide the timestamp in question.

Internet Draft Comments

Comments regarding this draft are solicited. Please include the AFS-3 protocol standardization mailing list (afs3-standardization@openafs.org) as a recipient of any comments.

Status of This Memo

This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

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This Internet-Draft will expire on 25 February 2024.

1. Introduction

The Volume Location Server is a critical component in AFS, responsible for providing a lookup service for volumes, identifying the server or set of servers on which volume instances can be found. Currently, there is a lack of standardized mechanisms to convey whether it can provide the date and time when a volume location entry was locked. This memo seeks to address this limitation by repurposing a currently unused volume location entry field and requesting the allocation of a new capability bit.

1.1. Requirements Language

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

2. Motivation

Knowing the date and time when a volume location entry was locked can be valuable for various purposes, such as auditing and troubleshooting. It allows administrators and users to track and analyze the history of volume locks, enabling them to understand the sequence of events and take appropriate actions when necessary.

3. Capability description

If the VLDB_CAPABILITY_LOCKTIMESTAMP bit is advertised, the Volume Location Server should be able to retrieve and return the lock timestamp for a given volume location entry upon request from clients. The lock timestamp should represent the date and time when a given entry was locked.

To make this possible, the spares2 field within the nvldbentry and uvldbentry structures has been designated for the purpose of returning the mentioned timestamp.

4. IANA Considerations

This memo includes no request to IANA.

5. AFS Assigned Numbers Registrar Considerations

This memo requests the allocation of a new capability bit to be advertised by the Volume Location Server.

6. Security Considerations

This memo does not introduce any new security considerations beyond those already inherent in the underlying protocols it relies on.

7. References

7.1. Normative References

[RFC2119]
Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
[RFC8174]
Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.

7.2. Informative References

[I-D.keiser-afs3-capabilities-00]
Keiser, T., "AFS-3 Protocol Capabilities Query Mechanism", , <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-keiser-afs3-capabilities>.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Thomas Keiser, as the draft authored by him, titled "AFS-3 Protocol Capabilities Query Mechanism" [I-D.keiser-afs3-capabilities-00], served as a reference throughout the development of this draft.

Author's Address

Marcio Brito Barbosa
Sine Nomine Associates