926 lines
		
	
	
		
			28 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Plaintext
		
	
	
	
	
	
			
		
		
	
	
			926 lines
		
	
	
		
			28 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Plaintext
		
	
	
	
	
	
Shared Subtrees
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---------------
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Contents:
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	1) Overview
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	2) Features
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	3) Setting mount states
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	4) Use-case
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	5) Detailed semantics
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	6) Quiz
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	7) FAQ
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	8) Implementation
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1) Overview
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-----------
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Consider the following situation:
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A process wants to clone its own namespace, but still wants to access the CD
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that got mounted recently.  Shared subtree semantics provide the necessary
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mechanism to accomplish the above.
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It provides the necessary building blocks for features like per-user-namespace
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and versioned filesystem.
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2) Features
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-----------
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Shared subtree provides four different flavors of mounts; struct vfsmount to be
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precise
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	a. shared mount
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	b. slave mount
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	c. private mount
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	d. unbindable mount
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2a) A shared mount can be replicated to as many mountpoints and all the
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replicas continue to be exactly same.
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	Here is an example:
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	Let's say /mnt has a mount that is shared.
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	mount --make-shared /mnt
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	Note: mount(8) command now supports the --make-shared flag,
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	so the sample 'smount' program is no longer needed and has been
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	removed.
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	# mount --bind /mnt /tmp
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	The above command replicates the mount at /mnt to the mountpoint /tmp
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	and the contents of both the mounts remain identical.
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	#ls /mnt
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	a b c
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	#ls /tmp
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	a b c
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	Now let's say we mount a device at /tmp/a
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	# mount /dev/sd0  /tmp/a
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	#ls /tmp/a
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	t1 t2 t2
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	#ls /mnt/a
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	t1 t2 t2
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	Note that the mount has propagated to the mount at /mnt as well.
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	And the same is true even when /dev/sd0 is mounted on /mnt/a. The
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	contents will be visible under /tmp/a too.
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2b) A slave mount is like a shared mount except that mount and umount events
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	only propagate towards it.
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	All slave mounts have a master mount which is a shared.
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	Here is an example:
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	Let's say /mnt has a mount which is shared.
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	# mount --make-shared /mnt
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	Let's bind mount /mnt to /tmp
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	# mount --bind /mnt /tmp
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	the new mount at /tmp becomes a shared mount and it is a replica of
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	the mount at /mnt.
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	Now let's make the mount at /tmp; a slave of /mnt
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	# mount --make-slave /tmp
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	let's mount /dev/sd0 on /mnt/a
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	# mount /dev/sd0 /mnt/a
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	#ls /mnt/a
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	t1 t2 t3
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	#ls /tmp/a
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	t1 t2 t3
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	Note the mount event has propagated to the mount at /tmp
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	However let's see what happens if we mount something on the mount at /tmp
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	# mount /dev/sd1 /tmp/b
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	#ls /tmp/b
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	s1 s2 s3
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	#ls /mnt/b
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	Note how the mount event has not propagated to the mount at
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	/mnt
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2c) A private mount does not forward or receive propagation.
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	This is the mount we are familiar with. Its the default type.
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2d) A unbindable mount is a unbindable private mount
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	let's say we have a mount at /mnt and we make is unbindable
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	# mount --make-unbindable /mnt
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	 Let's try to bind mount this mount somewhere else.
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	 # mount --bind /mnt /tmp
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	 mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /mnt,
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	        or too many mounted file systems
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	Binding a unbindable mount is a invalid operation.
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3) Setting mount states
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	The mount command (util-linux package) can be used to set mount
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	states:
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	mount --make-shared mountpoint
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	mount --make-slave mountpoint
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	mount --make-private mountpoint
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	mount --make-unbindable mountpoint
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4) Use cases
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------------
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	A) A process wants to clone its own namespace, but still wants to
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	   access the CD that got mounted recently.
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	   Solution:
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		The system administrator can make the mount at /cdrom shared
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		mount --bind /cdrom /cdrom
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		mount --make-shared /cdrom
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		Now any process that clones off a new namespace will have a
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		mount at /cdrom which is a replica of the same mount in the
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		parent namespace.
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		So when a CD is inserted and mounted at /cdrom that mount gets
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		propagated to the other mount at /cdrom in all the other clone
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		namespaces.
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	B) A process wants its mounts invisible to any other process, but
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	still be able to see the other system mounts.
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	   Solution:
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		To begin with, the administrator can mark the entire mount tree
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		as shareable.
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		mount --make-rshared /
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		A new process can clone off a new namespace. And mark some part
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		of its namespace as slave
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		mount --make-rslave /myprivatetree
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		Hence forth any mounts within the /myprivatetree done by the
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		process will not show up in any other namespace. However mounts
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		done in the parent namespace under /myprivatetree still shows
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		up in the process's namespace.
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	Apart from the above semantics this feature provides the
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	building blocks to solve the following problems:
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	C)  Per-user namespace
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		The above semantics allows a way to share mounts across
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		namespaces.  But namespaces are associated with processes. If
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		namespaces are made first class objects with user API to
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		associate/disassociate a namespace with userid, then each user
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		could have his/her own namespace and tailor it to his/her
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		requirements. Offcourse its needs support from PAM.
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	D)  Versioned files
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		If the entire mount tree is visible at multiple locations, then
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		a underlying versioning file system can return different
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		version of the file depending on the path used to access that
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		file.
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		An example is:
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		mount --make-shared /
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		mount --rbind / /view/v1
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		mount --rbind / /view/v2
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		mount --rbind / /view/v3
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		mount --rbind / /view/v4
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		and if /usr has a versioning filesystem mounted, then that
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		mount appears at /view/v1/usr, /view/v2/usr, /view/v3/usr and
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		/view/v4/usr too
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		A user can request v3 version of the file /usr/fs/namespace.c
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		by accessing /view/v3/usr/fs/namespace.c . The underlying
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		versioning filesystem can then decipher that v3 version of the
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		filesystem is being requested and return the corresponding
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		inode.
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5) Detailed semantics:
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-------------------
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	The section below explains the detailed semantics of
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	bind, rbind, move, mount, umount and clone-namespace operations.
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	Note: the word 'vfsmount' and the noun 'mount' have been used
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	to mean the same thing, throughout this document.
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5a) Mount states
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	A given mount can be in one of the following states
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	1) shared
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	2) slave
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	3) shared and slave
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	4) private
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	5) unbindable
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	A 'propagation event' is defined as event generated on a vfsmount
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	that leads to mount or unmount actions in other vfsmounts.
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	A 'peer group' is defined as a group of vfsmounts that propagate
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	events to each other.
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	(1) Shared mounts
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		A 'shared mount' is defined as a vfsmount that belongs to a
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		'peer group'.
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		For example:
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			mount --make-shared /mnt
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			mount --bind /mnt /tmp
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		The mount at /mnt and that at /tmp are both shared and belong
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		to the same peer group. Anything mounted or unmounted under
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		/mnt or /tmp reflect in all the other mounts of its peer
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		group.
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	(2) Slave mounts
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		A 'slave mount' is defined as a vfsmount that receives
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		propagation events and does not forward propagation events.
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		A slave mount as the name implies has a master mount from which
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		mount/unmount events are received. Events do not propagate from
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		the slave mount to the master.  Only a shared mount can be made
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		a slave by executing the following command
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			mount --make-slave mount
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		A shared mount that is made as a slave is no more shared unless
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		modified to become shared.
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	(3) Shared and Slave
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		A vfsmount can be both shared as well as slave.  This state
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		indicates that the mount is a slave of some vfsmount, and
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		has its own peer group too.  This vfsmount receives propagation
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		events from its master vfsmount, and also forwards propagation
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		events to its 'peer group' and to its slave vfsmounts.
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		Strictly speaking, the vfsmount is shared having its own
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		peer group, and this peer-group is a slave of some other
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		peer group.
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		Only a slave vfsmount can be made as 'shared and slave' by
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		either executing the following command
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			mount --make-shared mount
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		or by moving the slave vfsmount under a shared vfsmount.
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	(4) Private mount
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		A 'private mount' is defined as vfsmount that does not
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		receive or forward any propagation events.
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	(5) Unbindable mount
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		A 'unbindable mount' is defined as vfsmount that does not
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		receive or forward any propagation events and cannot
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		be bind mounted.
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   	State diagram:
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   	The state diagram below explains the state transition of a mount,
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	in response to various commands.
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	------------------------------------------------------------------------
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	|             |make-shared |  make-slave  | make-private |make-unbindab|
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	--------------|------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|
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	|shared	      |shared	   |*slave/private|   private	 | unbindable  |
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	|             |            |              |              |             |
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	|-------------|------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|
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	|slave	      |shared      |	**slave	  |    private   | unbindable  |
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	|             |and slave   |              |              |             |
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	|-------------|------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|
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	|shared	      |shared      |    slave	  |    private   | unbindable  |
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	|and slave    |and slave   |              |              |             |
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	|-------------|------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|
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	|private      |shared	   |  **private	  |    private   | unbindable  |
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	|-------------|------------|--------------|--------------|-------------|
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	|unbindable   |shared	   |**unbindable  |    private   | unbindable  |
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	------------------------------------------------------------------------
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	* if the shared mount is the only mount in its peer group, making it
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	slave, makes it private automatically. Note that there is no master to
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	which it can be slaved to.
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	** slaving a non-shared mount has no effect on the mount.
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	Apart from the commands listed below, the 'move' operation also changes
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	the state of a mount depending on type of the destination mount. Its
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	explained in section 5d.
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5b) Bind semantics
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	Consider the following command
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	mount --bind A/a  B/b
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	where 'A' is the source mount, 'a' is the dentry in the mount 'A', 'B'
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	is the destination mount and 'b' is the dentry in the destination mount.
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	The outcome depends on the type of mount of 'A' and 'B'. The table
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	below contains quick reference.
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   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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   |         BIND MOUNT OPERATION                                            |
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   |**************************************************************************
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   |source(A)->| shared       |       private  |       slave    | unbindable |
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   | dest(B)  |               |                |                |            |
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   |   |      |               |                |                |            |
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   |   v      |               |                |                |            |
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   |**************************************************************************
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   |  shared  | shared        |     shared     | shared & slave |  invalid   |
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   |          |               |                |                |            |
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   |non-shared| shared        |      private   |      slave     |  invalid   |
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   ***************************************************************************
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     	Details:
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	1. 'A' is a shared mount and 'B' is a shared mount. A new mount 'C'
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	which is clone of 'A', is created. Its root dentry is 'a' . 'C' is
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	mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'. Also new mount 'C1', 'C2', 'C3' ...
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	are created and mounted at the dentry 'b' on all mounts where 'B'
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	propagates to. A new propagation tree containing 'C1',..,'Cn' is
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	created. This propagation tree is identical to the propagation tree of
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	'B'.  And finally the peer-group of 'C' is merged with the peer group
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	of 'A'.
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	2. 'A' is a private mount and 'B' is a shared mount. A new mount 'C'
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	which is clone of 'A', is created. Its root dentry is 'a'. 'C' is
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	mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'. Also new mount 'C1', 'C2', 'C3' ...
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	are created and mounted at the dentry 'b' on all mounts where 'B'
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	propagates to. A new propagation tree is set containing all new mounts
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	'C', 'C1', .., 'Cn' with exactly the same configuration as the
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	propagation tree for 'B'.
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	3. 'A' is a slave mount of mount 'Z' and 'B' is a shared mount. A new
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	mount 'C' which is clone of 'A', is created. Its root dentry is 'a' .
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	'C' is mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'. Also new mounts 'C1', 'C2',
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	'C3' ... are created and mounted at the dentry 'b' on all mounts where
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	'B' propagates to. A new propagation tree containing the new mounts
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	'C','C1',..  'Cn' is created. This propagation tree is identical to the
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	propagation tree for 'B'. And finally the mount 'C' and its peer group
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	is made the slave of mount 'Z'.  In other words, mount 'C' is in the
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	state 'slave and shared'.
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	4. 'A' is a unbindable mount and 'B' is a shared mount. This is a
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	invalid operation.
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	5. 'A' is a private mount and 'B' is a non-shared(private or slave or
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	unbindable) mount. A new mount 'C' which is clone of 'A', is created.
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	Its root dentry is 'a'. 'C' is mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'.
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	6. 'A' is a shared mount and 'B' is a non-shared mount. A new mount 'C'
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	which is a clone of 'A' is created. Its root dentry is 'a'. 'C' is
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	mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'.  'C' is made a member of the
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	peer-group of 'A'.
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	7. 'A' is a slave mount of mount 'Z' and 'B' is a non-shared mount. A
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	new mount 'C' which is a clone of 'A' is created. Its root dentry is
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	'a'.  'C' is mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'. Also 'C' is set as a
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	slave mount of 'Z'. In other words 'A' and 'C' are both slave mounts of
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	'Z'.  All mount/unmount events on 'Z' propagates to 'A' and 'C'. But
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	mount/unmount on 'A' do not propagate anywhere else. Similarly
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	mount/unmount on 'C' do not propagate anywhere else.
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	8. 'A' is a unbindable mount and 'B' is a non-shared mount. This is a
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	invalid operation. A unbindable mount cannot be bind mounted.
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5c) Rbind semantics
 | 
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	rbind is same as bind. Bind replicates the specified mount.  Rbind
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	replicates all the mounts in the tree belonging to the specified mount.
 | 
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	Rbind mount is bind mount applied to all the mounts in the tree.
 | 
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	If the source tree that is rbind has some unbindable mounts,
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	then the subtree under the unbindable mount is pruned in the new
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	location.
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	eg: let's say we have the following mount tree.
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		A
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	      /   \
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	      B   C
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	     / \ / \
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	     D E F G
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	     Let's say all the mount except the mount C in the tree are
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	     of a type other than unbindable.
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	     If this tree is rbound to say Z
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	     We will have the following tree at the new location.
 | 
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		Z
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		|
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		A'
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	       /
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	      B'		Note how the tree under C is pruned
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	     / \ 		in the new location.
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	    D' E'
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5d) Move semantics
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Consider the following command
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	mount --move A  B/b
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	where 'A' is the source mount, 'B' is the destination mount and 'b' is
 | 
						|
	the dentry in the destination mount.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	The outcome depends on the type of the mount of 'A' and 'B'. The table
 | 
						|
	below is a quick reference.
 | 
						|
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 | 
						|
   |         		MOVE MOUNT OPERATION                                 |
 | 
						|
   |**************************************************************************
 | 
						|
   | source(A)->| shared      |       private  |       slave    | unbindable |
 | 
						|
   | dest(B)  |               |                |                |            |
 | 
						|
   |   |      |               |                |                |            |
 | 
						|
   |   v      |               |                |                |            |
 | 
						|
   |**************************************************************************
 | 
						|
   |  shared  | shared        |     shared     |shared and slave|  invalid   |
 | 
						|
   |          |               |                |                |            |
 | 
						|
   |non-shared| shared        |      private   |    slave       | unbindable |
 | 
						|
   ***************************************************************************
 | 
						|
	NOTE: moving a mount residing under a shared mount is invalid.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
      Details follow:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	1. 'A' is a shared mount and 'B' is a shared mount.  The mount 'A' is
 | 
						|
	mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'.  Also new mounts 'A1', 'A2'...'An'
 | 
						|
	are created and mounted at dentry 'b' on all mounts that receive
 | 
						|
	propagation from mount 'B'. A new propagation tree is created in the
 | 
						|
	exact same configuration as that of 'B'. This new propagation tree
 | 
						|
	contains all the new mounts 'A1', 'A2'...  'An'.  And this new
 | 
						|
	propagation tree is appended to the already existing propagation tree
 | 
						|
	of 'A'.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	2. 'A' is a private mount and 'B' is a shared mount. The mount 'A' is
 | 
						|
	mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'. Also new mount 'A1', 'A2'... 'An'
 | 
						|
	are created and mounted at dentry 'b' on all mounts that receive
 | 
						|
	propagation from mount 'B'. The mount 'A' becomes a shared mount and a
 | 
						|
	propagation tree is created which is identical to that of
 | 
						|
	'B'. This new propagation tree contains all the new mounts 'A1',
 | 
						|
	'A2'...  'An'.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	3. 'A' is a slave mount of mount 'Z' and 'B' is a shared mount.  The
 | 
						|
	mount 'A' is mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'.  Also new mounts 'A1',
 | 
						|
	'A2'... 'An' are created and mounted at dentry 'b' on all mounts that
 | 
						|
	receive propagation from mount 'B'. A new propagation tree is created
 | 
						|
	in the exact same configuration as that of 'B'. This new propagation
 | 
						|
	tree contains all the new mounts 'A1', 'A2'...  'An'.  And this new
 | 
						|
	propagation tree is appended to the already existing propagation tree of
 | 
						|
	'A'.  Mount 'A' continues to be the slave mount of 'Z' but it also
 | 
						|
	becomes 'shared'.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	4. 'A' is a unbindable mount and 'B' is a shared mount. The operation
 | 
						|
	is invalid. Because mounting anything on the shared mount 'B' can
 | 
						|
	create new mounts that get mounted on the mounts that receive
 | 
						|
	propagation from 'B'.  And since the mount 'A' is unbindable, cloning
 | 
						|
	it to mount at other mountpoints is not possible.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	5. 'A' is a private mount and 'B' is a non-shared(private or slave or
 | 
						|
	unbindable) mount. The mount 'A' is mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	6. 'A' is a shared mount and 'B' is a non-shared mount.  The mount 'A'
 | 
						|
	is mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'.  Mount 'A' continues to be a
 | 
						|
	shared mount.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	7. 'A' is a slave mount of mount 'Z' and 'B' is a non-shared mount.
 | 
						|
	The mount 'A' is mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'.  Mount 'A'
 | 
						|
	continues to be a slave mount of mount 'Z'.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	8. 'A' is a unbindable mount and 'B' is a non-shared mount. The mount
 | 
						|
	'A' is mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'. Mount 'A' continues to be a
 | 
						|
	unbindable mount.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
5e) Mount semantics
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Consider the following command
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	mount device  B/b
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	'B' is the destination mount and 'b' is the dentry in the destination
 | 
						|
	mount.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	The above operation is the same as bind operation with the exception
 | 
						|
	that the source mount is always a private mount.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
5f) Unmount semantics
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Consider the following command
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	umount A
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	where 'A' is a mount mounted on mount 'B' at dentry 'b'.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	If mount 'B' is shared, then all most-recently-mounted mounts at dentry
 | 
						|
	'b' on mounts that receive propagation from mount 'B' and does not have
 | 
						|
	sub-mounts within them are unmounted.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Example: Let's say 'B1', 'B2', 'B3' are shared mounts that propagate to
 | 
						|
	each other.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	let's say 'A1', 'A2', 'A3' are first mounted at dentry 'b' on mount
 | 
						|
	'B1', 'B2' and 'B3' respectively.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	let's say 'C1', 'C2', 'C3' are next mounted at the same dentry 'b' on
 | 
						|
	mount 'B1', 'B2' and 'B3' respectively.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	if 'C1' is unmounted, all the mounts that are most-recently-mounted on
 | 
						|
	'B1' and on the mounts that 'B1' propagates-to are unmounted.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	'B1' propagates to 'B2' and 'B3'. And the most recently mounted mount
 | 
						|
	on 'B2' at dentry 'b' is 'C2', and that of mount 'B3' is 'C3'.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	So all 'C1', 'C2' and 'C3' should be unmounted.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	If any of 'C2' or 'C3' has some child mounts, then that mount is not
 | 
						|
	unmounted, but all other mounts are unmounted. However if 'C1' is told
 | 
						|
	to be unmounted and 'C1' has some sub-mounts, the umount operation is
 | 
						|
	failed entirely.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
5g) Clone Namespace
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	A cloned namespace contains all the mounts as that of the parent
 | 
						|
	namespace.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Let's say 'A' and 'B' are the corresponding mounts in the parent and the
 | 
						|
	child namespace.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	If 'A' is shared, then 'B' is also shared and 'A' and 'B' propagate to
 | 
						|
	each other.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	If 'A' is a slave mount of 'Z', then 'B' is also the slave mount of
 | 
						|
	'Z'.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	If 'A' is a private mount, then 'B' is a private mount too.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	If 'A' is unbindable mount, then 'B' is a unbindable mount too.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
6) Quiz
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	A. What is the result of the following command sequence?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		mount --bind /mnt /mnt
 | 
						|
		mount --make-shared /mnt
 | 
						|
		mount --bind /mnt /tmp
 | 
						|
		mount --move /tmp /mnt/1
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		what should be the contents of /mnt /mnt/1 /mnt/1/1 should be?
 | 
						|
		Should they all be identical? or should /mnt and /mnt/1 be
 | 
						|
		identical only?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	B. What is the result of the following command sequence?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		mount --make-rshared /
 | 
						|
		mkdir -p /v/1
 | 
						|
		mount --rbind / /v/1
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		what should be the content of /v/1/v/1 be?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	C. What is the result of the following command sequence?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		mount --bind /mnt /mnt
 | 
						|
		mount --make-shared /mnt
 | 
						|
		mkdir -p /mnt/1/2/3 /mnt/1/test
 | 
						|
		mount --bind /mnt/1 /tmp
 | 
						|
		mount --make-slave /mnt
 | 
						|
		mount --make-shared /mnt
 | 
						|
		mount --bind /mnt/1/2 /tmp1
 | 
						|
		mount --make-slave /mnt
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		At this point we have the first mount at /tmp and
 | 
						|
		its root dentry is 1. Let's call this mount 'A'
 | 
						|
		And then we have a second mount at /tmp1 with root
 | 
						|
		dentry 2. Let's call this mount 'B'
 | 
						|
		Next we have a third mount at /mnt with root dentry
 | 
						|
		mnt. Let's call this mount 'C'
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		'B' is the slave of 'A' and 'C' is a slave of 'B'
 | 
						|
		A -> B -> C
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		at this point if we execute the following command
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		mount --bind /bin /tmp/test
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		The mount is attempted on 'A'
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		will the mount propagate to 'B' and 'C' ?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		what would be the contents of
 | 
						|
		/mnt/1/test be?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
7) FAQ
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Q1. Why is bind mount needed? How is it different from symbolic links?
 | 
						|
		symbolic links can get stale if the destination mount gets
 | 
						|
		unmounted or moved. Bind mounts continue to exist even if the
 | 
						|
		other mount is unmounted or moved.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Q2. Why can't the shared subtree be implemented using exportfs?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		exportfs is a heavyweight way of accomplishing part of what
 | 
						|
		shared subtree can do. I cannot imagine a way to implement the
 | 
						|
		semantics of slave mount using exportfs?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Q3 Why is unbindable mount needed?
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		Let's say we want to replicate the mount tree at multiple
 | 
						|
		locations within the same subtree.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		if one rbind mounts a tree within the same subtree 'n' times
 | 
						|
		the number of mounts created is an exponential function of 'n'.
 | 
						|
		Having unbindable mount can help prune the unneeded bind
 | 
						|
		mounts. Here is a example.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		step 1:
 | 
						|
		   let's say the root tree has just two directories with
 | 
						|
		   one vfsmount.
 | 
						|
				    root
 | 
						|
				   /    \
 | 
						|
				  tmp    usr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		    And we want to replicate the tree at multiple
 | 
						|
		    mountpoints under /root/tmp
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		step2:
 | 
						|
		      mount --make-shared /root
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		      mkdir -p /tmp/m1
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		      mount --rbind /root /tmp/m1
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		      the new tree now looks like this:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
				    root
 | 
						|
				   /    \
 | 
						|
				 tmp    usr
 | 
						|
				/
 | 
						|
			       m1
 | 
						|
			      /  \
 | 
						|
			     tmp  usr
 | 
						|
			     /
 | 
						|
			    m1
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
			  it has two vfsmounts
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		step3:
 | 
						|
			    mkdir -p /tmp/m2
 | 
						|
			    mount --rbind /root /tmp/m2
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
			the new tree now looks like this:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
				      root
 | 
						|
				     /    \
 | 
						|
				   tmp     usr
 | 
						|
				  /    \
 | 
						|
				m1       m2
 | 
						|
			       / \       /  \
 | 
						|
			     tmp  usr   tmp  usr
 | 
						|
			     / \          /
 | 
						|
			    m1  m2      m1
 | 
						|
				/ \     /  \
 | 
						|
			      tmp usr  tmp   usr
 | 
						|
			      /        / \
 | 
						|
			     m1       m1  m2
 | 
						|
			    /  \
 | 
						|
			  tmp   usr
 | 
						|
			  /  \
 | 
						|
			 m1   m2
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		       it has 6 vfsmounts
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		step 4:
 | 
						|
			  mkdir -p /tmp/m3
 | 
						|
			  mount --rbind /root /tmp/m3
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
			  I wont' draw the tree..but it has 24 vfsmounts
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		at step i the number of vfsmounts is V[i] = i*V[i-1].
 | 
						|
		This is an exponential function. And this tree has way more
 | 
						|
		mounts than what we really needed in the first place.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		One could use a series of umount at each step to prune
 | 
						|
		out the unneeded mounts. But there is a better solution.
 | 
						|
		Unclonable mounts come in handy here.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		step 1:
 | 
						|
		   let's say the root tree has just two directories with
 | 
						|
		   one vfsmount.
 | 
						|
				    root
 | 
						|
				   /    \
 | 
						|
				  tmp    usr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		    How do we set up the same tree at multiple locations under
 | 
						|
		    /root/tmp
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		step2:
 | 
						|
		      mount --bind /root/tmp /root/tmp
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		      mount --make-rshared /root
 | 
						|
		      mount --make-unbindable /root/tmp
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		      mkdir -p /tmp/m1
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		      mount --rbind /root /tmp/m1
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		      the new tree now looks like this:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
				    root
 | 
						|
				   /    \
 | 
						|
				 tmp    usr
 | 
						|
				/
 | 
						|
			       m1
 | 
						|
			      /  \
 | 
						|
			     tmp  usr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		step3:
 | 
						|
			    mkdir -p /tmp/m2
 | 
						|
			    mount --rbind /root /tmp/m2
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		      the new tree now looks like this:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
				    root
 | 
						|
				   /    \
 | 
						|
				 tmp    usr
 | 
						|
				/   \
 | 
						|
			       m1     m2
 | 
						|
			      /  \     / \
 | 
						|
			     tmp  usr tmp usr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		step4:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
			    mkdir -p /tmp/m3
 | 
						|
			    mount --rbind /root /tmp/m3
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		      the new tree now looks like this:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
				    	  root
 | 
						|
				      /    	  \
 | 
						|
				     tmp    	   usr
 | 
						|
			         /    \    \
 | 
						|
			       m1     m2     m3
 | 
						|
			      /  \     / \    /  \
 | 
						|
			     tmp  usr tmp usr tmp usr
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
8) Implementation
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
8A) Datastructure
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	4 new fields are introduced to struct vfsmount
 | 
						|
	->mnt_share
 | 
						|
	->mnt_slave_list
 | 
						|
	->mnt_slave
 | 
						|
	->mnt_master
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	->mnt_share links together all the mount to/from which this vfsmount
 | 
						|
		send/receives propagation events.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	->mnt_slave_list links all the mounts to which this vfsmount propagates
 | 
						|
		to.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	->mnt_slave links together all the slaves that its master vfsmount
 | 
						|
		propagates to.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	->mnt_master points to the master vfsmount from which this vfsmount
 | 
						|
		receives propagation.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	->mnt_flags takes two more flags to indicate the propagation status of
 | 
						|
		the vfsmount.  MNT_SHARE indicates that the vfsmount is a shared
 | 
						|
		vfsmount.  MNT_UNCLONABLE indicates that the vfsmount cannot be
 | 
						|
		replicated.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	All the shared vfsmounts in a peer group form a cyclic list through
 | 
						|
	->mnt_share.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	All vfsmounts with the same ->mnt_master form on a cyclic list anchored
 | 
						|
	in ->mnt_master->mnt_slave_list and going through ->mnt_slave.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	 ->mnt_master can point to arbitrary (and possibly different) members
 | 
						|
	 of master peer group.  To find all immediate slaves of a peer group
 | 
						|
	 you need to go through _all_ ->mnt_slave_list of its members.
 | 
						|
	 Conceptually it's just a single set - distribution among the
 | 
						|
	 individual lists does not affect propagation or the way propagation
 | 
						|
	 tree is modified by operations.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	A example propagation tree looks as shown in the figure below.
 | 
						|
	[ NOTE: Though it looks like a forest, if we consider all the shared
 | 
						|
	mounts as a conceptual entity called 'pnode', it becomes a tree]
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		        A <--> B <--> C <---> D
 | 
						|
		       /|\	      /|      |\
 | 
						|
		      / F G	     J K      H I
 | 
						|
		     /
 | 
						|
		    E<-->K
 | 
						|
			/|\
 | 
						|
		       M L N
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	In the above figure  A,B,C and D all are shared and propagate to each
 | 
						|
	other.   'A' has got 3 slave mounts 'E' 'F' and 'G' 'C' has got 2 slave
 | 
						|
	mounts 'J' and 'K'  and  'D' has got two slave mounts 'H' and 'I'.
 | 
						|
	'E' is also shared with 'K' and they propagate to each other.  And
 | 
						|
	'K' has 3 slaves 'M', 'L' and 'N'
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	A's ->mnt_share links with the ->mnt_share of 'B' 'C' and 'D'
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	A's ->mnt_slave_list links with ->mnt_slave of 'E', 'K', 'F' and 'G'
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	E's ->mnt_share links with ->mnt_share of K
 | 
						|
	'E', 'K', 'F', 'G' have their ->mnt_master point to struct
 | 
						|
				vfsmount of 'A'
 | 
						|
	'M', 'L', 'N' have their ->mnt_master point to struct vfsmount of 'K'
 | 
						|
	K's ->mnt_slave_list links with ->mnt_slave of 'M', 'L' and 'N'
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	C's ->mnt_slave_list links with ->mnt_slave of 'J' and 'K'
 | 
						|
	J and K's ->mnt_master points to struct vfsmount of C
 | 
						|
	and finally D's ->mnt_slave_list links with ->mnt_slave of 'H' and 'I'
 | 
						|
	'H' and 'I' have their ->mnt_master pointing to struct vfsmount of 'D'.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	NOTE: The propagation tree is orthogonal to the mount tree.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
8B Algorithm:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	The crux of the implementation resides in rbind/move operation.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	The overall algorithm breaks the operation into 3 phases: (look at
 | 
						|
	attach_recursive_mnt() and propagate_mnt())
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	1. prepare phase.
 | 
						|
	2. commit phases.
 | 
						|
	3. abort phases.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Prepare phase:
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	for each mount in the source tree:
 | 
						|
		   a) Create the necessary number of mount trees to
 | 
						|
		   	be attached to each of the mounts that receive
 | 
						|
			propagation from the destination mount.
 | 
						|
		   b) Do not attach any of the trees to its destination.
 | 
						|
		      However note down its ->mnt_parent and ->mnt_mountpoint
 | 
						|
		   c) Link all the new mounts to form a propagation tree that
 | 
						|
		      is identical to the propagation tree of the destination
 | 
						|
		      mount.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		   If this phase is successful, there should be 'n' new
 | 
						|
		   propagation trees; where 'n' is the number of mounts in the
 | 
						|
		   source tree.  Go to the commit phase
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		   Also there should be 'm' new mount trees, where 'm' is
 | 
						|
		   the number of mounts to which the destination mount
 | 
						|
		   propagates to.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
		   if any memory allocations fail, go to the abort phase.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Commit phase
 | 
						|
		attach each of the mount trees to their corresponding
 | 
						|
		destination mounts.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	Abort phase
 | 
						|
		delete all the newly created trees.
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
	NOTE: all the propagation related functionality resides in the file
 | 
						|
	pnode.c
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 | 
						|
 | 
						|
version 0.1  (created the initial document, Ram Pai linuxram@us.ibm.com)
 | 
						|
version 0.2  (Incorporated comments from Al Viro)
 |