Once upon a time, in an office far far away, LINSTOR was at v0.2 when I started using our own python API to write an OpenStack volume driver for LINSTOR. This LINSTOR API would allow a python script to provision and manage LINSTOR volumes. Therefore, Linstor.resource_create(rsc_name=”mine”, node_name=”not_yours”) would create a LINSTOR resource called “mine” on a computer “not_yours.” Similarly, Linstor.node_list() would return the list of storage nodes in the current LINSTOR cluster.
After a healthy amount of coffee and snacks, my driver started making progress creating volumes and snapshots in OpenStack. As the project progressed and I became more comfortable using the API, I wrote a small GUI prototype to mimic the functionality of using LINSTOR volume provisioning in OpenStack. I found a python-based GUI library called REMI which offered rich GUI features within a single python library. The REMI offered fast prototyping with minimum overhead and even cross-platform deployment.
I wrote a small proof-of-concept GUI script called LINSTOR View and it manages LINSTOR volumes with a graphical interface. REMI provides the UI while my script uses the API calls to manage backend storage. The prototype could list, create, and delete LINSTOR volumes.
Fast forward to 2019: LINSTOR v0.9.2 was just released along with DRBD v9.0.17. One of the many new features of LINSTOR is a REST API. Just like any typical REST implementation, a POST request will create a LINSTOR asset while DELETE does the opposite. Similarly, a PUT request will modify an asset and so on. Software-defined-storage (SDS) with LINSTOR gets even easier with this API. I believe this REST API will allow for easier development with LINSTOR and faster integration with other platforms.
The release notes are available here, along with a few other goodies. But without further stealing the thunder from Rene Peinthor and the rest of the Viennese development team, I bid auf Wiedersehen. I look forward to new developments as LINSTOR nears v1.0.0.
For any questions or comments, please feel free to reach me in the comments below or at woojay@linbit.com.
