Exploring file share services – Manila
The next storage service in OpenStack is the file share code named Manila. The service offers simultaneous access to a storage-based file share for a variety of clients and storage backends. Multiple sharing protocols are supported by Manila, at least until the Bobcat release, including NFS, GlusterFS, CephFS, CIFS, HDFS, and, most recently, MapRFS. Note that the storage backends use drivers that must support one of the previously listed protocols.
Manila under the hood
As illustrated in the following figure, the core components that orchestrate file shares and manage their life cycle in Manila are as follows:
- Manila share server: A unit of storage that hosts the shares
- API server: Exposes a REST API interface for client request handling
- Scheduler: Selects the best share server to suit a file share request
- Data service: Handles data backups, recovery, and migration
Manila interacts with a few OpenStack core...