[Gluster-devel] Gluster 4.0: Update

[Amar Tumballi]

Hello Everyone,

3 weeks back we (most of the maintainers of Gluster projects) had a
meeting, and we discussed about features required for Gluster 4.0 and also
the possible dates.
<https://hackmd.io/GwIwnGBmCsCM0FoDMsAcBTBAWADLLCYATLJiOmBVgMYAmAhvbLUA#summary>
Summary:

   -

   It is agreed unanimously that the Gluster 4.0 should be feature based
   release, and not just time based.
   -

   The discussions were on what are the blocking features for 4.0 release,
   and below were some features which we are considering as blocker for
   release.
   - *glusterd2*:
      The scalable management interface, which will come with REST api and
      other admin friendly options. Will be the ONLY major blocker for release.
      - *Thin clients* (code: gfproxy):
      Not a blocker as it is slated to get into master branch before next
      release cut on 3.x series too. But we are calling it a major
feature of 4.0
      as it brings many benefits and also change some of the assumptions and
      current design principles of glusterfs project.
      - *Protocol/XDR changes*:
      Technically, Gluster’s RPC is implemented in a way to support
      changing of protocols inbetween even the minor releases, but the major
      changes like adding another fop (like statx(), fadvise() or similar) will
      need some protocol changes.
      Also in discussion is the changes to dictionary structure on wire. We
      will continue to work on each of this individually, and plan to work
      towards meeting the release timeline.
   -

   *Dates*: The plan is to have the release around 2 months from the date
   the final blocker patch gets into master branch.
   - Tentative: October 20th to have last patch, and Jan 1st for release.
      - Warning: The above is literally ‘tentative’, and not to be assumed
      as confirmed dates.

<https://hackmd.io/GwIwnGBmCsCM0FoDMsAcBTBAWADLLCYATLJiOmBVgMYAmAhvbLUA#other-features-users-can-anticipate>Other
features users can anticipate:

   - ‘RIO volume type’
   - Extension of snapshot support for zfs / btrfs
   - Better support and documentation for monitoring
   - Halo replication:
      - Initial patches have made it to 3.11
      - Pending work is planned to be done by 4.0
   - gNFS (Gluster’s native NFS) is expected to not be packaged for
   distributions anymore.
      - It currently is an optional package for Fedora and CentOS Storage
      SIG, but we plan to not provide it at all anymore.
      - The code stays in the repository for now, but it may get dropped
      completely later on.
      - NFS-Ganesha is the answer for NFS protocol access starting Gluster
      4.0

<https://hackmd.io/GwIwnGBmCsCM0FoDMsAcBTBAWADLLCYATLJiOmBVgMYAmAhvbLUA#faq>
FAQ:

   1. Will we have 3.13 to continue the trend of 3 months release calendar?

Answer: Yes. But, it will not be a LTS release.

   1. Would 4.0 be LTS release ?

Answer: No.

More information on this topic can be found at :
https://hackmd.io/s/rJaLCP38b#

Further discussions on this will be done at Gluster Summit 2017 at Prague,
CZ. Try to attend in person if you can!!

Feedback welcome.

Regards,
Gluster team.

-- 
Amar Tumballi (amarts)
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