[Samba] Oplocks Usage Recommendations Whitepaper (with attachment)

Eric Roseme eroseme at emonster.rose.hp.com
Fri Nov 1 23:43:01 GMT 2002


Here is Oplocks Usage Recommendations Whitepaper for Samba on HP-UX
(originally was written for CIFS/9000 Server on HP-UX).

Note that the intended audience is/are HP-UX customers who have
questions
and concerns about when to configure oplocks.  This is intended as a
rudimentry guide to help avoid the most obvious oplock pitfalls.

Hopefully the plain text alignments hold up well for most editors.  Word
messes things up.

Thanks,

Eric Roseme
Hewlett-Packard
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HP-UX Samba Opportunistic Locking Usage Recommendations

Eric Roseme, Hewlett-Packard
October, 2002

                                                                      



Contents

Legal Notices	                                                   2
Chapter 1	Introduction	                                   4
Chapter 2	Opportunistic Locking Overview	                   5
Chapter 3	Samba Oplock Configuration	                   7
Chapter 4	Opportunistic Locking Recommendations	           9
        4.1	Exclusively Accessed Shares	                   9
        4.2	Multiple-Accessed Shares or Files	           9
        4.3	Unix or NFS Client Accessed Files	           10
        4.4	Slow and/or Unreliable Networks	                   10
        4.5	Multi-User Databases	                           10
        4.6	PDM Data Shares	                                   10
        4.7	Force User	                                   10
        4.8	Advanced Samba Opportunistic Locking Parameters	   11
        4.9	Mission Critical High Availability        	   11
Chapter 5	Summary	                                           12
 




Chapter 1 Introduction

Samba on HP-UX manages file access among Windows clients with Windows 
style file locking.  It applies a very effective set of file locking 
features that are managed by the user-space client processes on the 
server, and provides excellent data security and integrity in a 
multi-user environment.  Samba also integrates some Windows locking 
protocols with the underlying HP-UX operating system locking protocols,
and therefore provides some interoperability with UNIX and NFS style 
file locking.  

Opportunistic Locking is a unique Windows file locking feature.  It is
not really file locking, but is included in most discussions of Windows
file locking, so is considered a defacto locking feature.  
Opportunistic Locking is actually part of the Windows client file 
caching mechanism.  It is not a particularly robust or reliable feature
when implemented on the variety of customized networks that exist in 
enterprise computing, but can be effective in providing modest 
perceived performance optimization.

Like Windows, Samba implements Opportunistic Locking as a server-side 
component of the client caching mechanism.  Because of the lightweight 
nature of the Windows feature design, effective configuration of 
Opportunistic Locking requires a good understanding of its limitations,
and then applying that understanding when configuring data access for 
each particular customized network and client usage state.



Chapter 2 Opportunistic Locking Overview

OPPORTUNISTIC LOCKING (Oplocks) is invoked by the Windows file system 
(as opposed to an API) via registry entries (on the server AND client)
for the purpose of enhancing network performance when accessing a file 
residing on a server. Performance is enhanced by caching the file 
locally on the client which allows:

        Read-ahead:         The client reads the local copy of the 
                            file, eliminating network latency
        Write caching:      The client writes to the local copy of the 
                            file, eliminating network latency
        Lock caching:       The client caches application locks 
                            locally, eliminating network latency

The performance enhancement of oplocks is due to the opportunity of 
exclusive access to the file - even if it is opened with deny-none - 
because Windows monitors the file's status for concurrent access from 
other processes.
  

Windows defines 4 kinds of Oplocks:

Level1 Oplock - The redirector sees that the file was opened with deny 
                none (allowing concurrent access), verifies that no 
                other process is accessing the file, checks that 
                oplocks are enabled, then grants deny-all/read-write/ex-
                clusive access to the file.  The client now performs 
                operations on the cached local file.  

                If a second process attempts to open the file, the open
                is deferred while the redirector "breaks" the original 
                oplock.  The oplock break signals the caching client to
                write the local file back to the server, flush the 
                local locks, and discard read-ahead data.  The break is
                then complete, the deferred open is granted, and the 
                multiple processes can enjoy concurrent file access as 
                dictated by mandatory or byte-range locking options. 
                However, if the original opening process opened the 
                file with a share mode other than deny-none, then the 
                second process is granted limited or no access, despite
                the oplock break.

Level2 Oplock - Performs like a level1 oplock, except caching is only 
                operative for reads. All other operations are performed
                on the server disk copy of the file.  

Filter Oplock - Does not allow write or delete file access.

Batch Oplock  - Manipulates file openings and closings - allows caching
                of file attributes.

An important detail is that oplocks are invoked by the file system, not
an application API.  Therefore, an application can close an oplocked 
file, but the file system does not relinquish the oplock.  When the 
oplock break is issued, the file system then simply closes the file in 
preparation for the subsequent open by the second process.



Chapter 3 CIFS/9000 Oplock Configuration

OPPORTUNISTIC LOCKING (Oplocks) is implemented by Samba on a per-share 
basis in the smb.conf file.  Oplocks are enabled by default for each 
share, which allows the Windows client to cache a local copy of a file 
for:

     Read-ahead
     Write-caching
     Lock caching

*Oplocks*are disabled on a per-share basis in the smb.conf file:

  [share_name]
        oplocks  = no

The default is "yes".  The default oplock type is Level1.

*Level2 Oplocks* are enabled on a per-share basis in the smb.conf 
file:

  [share_name]
        level2 oplocks = yes

The default is "no".  Oplocks must also be set to "yes" for the Level2
oplock parameter to function. 

*Kernel oplocks* is a Samba smb.conf parameter that notifies Samba (if 
the UNIX kernel has the capability to send a Windows client an oplock 
break) when a UNIX process is attempting to open the file that is 
cached.  This parameter addresses sharing files between UNIX and 
Windows with Oplocks enabled on the Samba server: the UNIX process 
can open the file that is Oplocked (cached) by the Windows client and 
the smbd process will not send an oplock break, which exposes the file 
to the risk of data corruption.  If the UNIX kernel has the ability to 
send an oplock break, then the kernel oplocks parameter enables Samba 
to send the oplock break.  Kernel oplocks are enabled on a per-server 
basis in the smb.conf file.  

  [global]
       kernel oplocks = yes

The default is "no".  

*Veto oplocks* is a smb.conf parameter that identifies specific files for
which Oplocks are disabled.  When a Windows client opens a file that 
has been configured for veto oplocks, the client will not be granted 
the oplock, and all operations will be executed on the original file on
disk instead of a client-cached file copy.  By explicitly identifying 
files that are shared with UNIX processes, and disabling oplocks for 
those files, the server-wide Oplock configuration can be enabled to 
allow Windows clients to utilize the performance benefit of file 
caching without the risk of data corruption.  Veto Oplocks can be 
enabled on a per-share basis, or globally for the entire server, in the 
smb.conf file:

  [global]
        veto oplock files = /filename.htm/*.txt/

  [share_name]
        veto oplock files = /*.exe/filename.ext/

*Oplock break wait time" is a smb.conf parameter that adjusts the time 
interval for Samba to reply to an oplock break request.  Samba 
recommends "DO NOT CHANGE THIS PARAMETER UNLESS YOU HAVE READ AND 
UNDERSTOOD THE SAMBA OPLOCK CODE."  Oplock Break Wait Time can only be 
configured globally in the smb.conf file:

   [global]
          oplock break wait time =  0 (default)

*Oplock break contention limit* is a smb.conf parameter that limits the 
response of the Samba server to grant an oplock if the configured 
number of contending clients reaches the limit specified by the 
parameter.  Samba recommends "DO NOT CHANGE THIS PARAMETER UNLESS YOU 
HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE SAMBA OPLOCK CODE."  Oplock Break 
Contention Limit can be enable on a per-share basis, or globally for 
the entire server, in the smb.conf file.

   [global]
          oplock break contention limit =  2 (default)

   [share_name]
         oplock break contention limit =  2 (default)
 


Chapter 4 

Opportunistic Locking Recommendations

Opportunistic locking is a desirable feature when it can enhance the 
perceived performance of a networked client.  However, the 
opportunistic locking protocol is not robust, and therefore can 
encounter problems when invoked beyond a simplistic configuration, or 
on extended, slow, or faulty networks.  In these cases, operating 
system management of opportunistic locking and/or recovering from 
repetitive errors can offset the perceived performance advantage that 
it is intended to provide.

"Opportunistic Locking" is actually an improper name for this feature. 
The true benefit of this feature is client-side data caching, and 
oplocks is merely a notification mechanism for writing data back to the
networked storage disk.  The limitation of opportunistic locking is the
reliability of the mechanism to process an oplock break (notification) 
between the server and the caching client.  If this exchange is faulty 
(usually due to timing out for any number of reasons) then the 
client-side caching benefit is negated.  

The actual decision that a user or administrator should consider is 
whether it is sensible to share amongst multiple users data that will 
be cached locally on a client.  In many cases the answer is no.  
Deciding when to cache or not cache data is the real question, and thus
"opportunistic locking" should be treated as a toggle for client-side 
caching. Turn it "ON" when client-side caching is desirable and 
reliable.  Turn it "OFF" when client-side caching is redundant, 
unreliable, or counter-productive.

Opportunistic locking is by default set to "on" by Samba on all 
configured shares, so careful attention should be given to each case to
determine if the potential benefit is worth the potential for delays. 
The following recommendations will help to characterize the environment 
where opportunistic locking may be effectively configured.


4.1 Exclusively Accessed Shares
Opportunistic locking is most effective when it is confined to shares 
that are exclusively accessed by a single user, or by only one user at
a time.  Because the true value of opportunistic locking is the local 
client caching of data, any operation that interrupts the caching 
mechanism will cause a delay.

Home directories are the most obvious examples of where the performance
benefit of opportunistic locking can be safely realized.


4.2 Multiple-Accessed Shares or Files
As each additional user accesses a file in a share with opportunistic 
locking enabled, the potential for delays and resulting perceived poor
performance increases.  When multiple users are accessing a file on a 
share that has oplocks enabled, the management impact of sending and 
receiving oplock breaks, and the resulting latency while other clients 
wait for the caching client to flush data, offset the performance gains
of the caching user.  

As each additional client attempts to access a file with oplocks set, 
the potential performance improvement is negated and eventually results
in a performance bottleneck.


4.3 Unix or NFS Client Accessed Files
Local HP-UX (Unix) and NFS clients access files without a mandatory 
file locking mechanism.  Thus, these client platforms are incapable of 
initiating an oplock break request from the server to a Windows client
that has a file cached. Local HP-UX or NFS file access can therefore 
write to a file that has been cached by a Windows client, which 
exposes the file to likely data corruption.  

If files are shared between Windows clients, and either local HP-UX 
(Unix) or NFS users, then turn opportunistic locking off. 


4.4 Slow and/or Unreliable Networks
The biggest potential performance improvement for opportunistic locking
occurs when the client-side caching of reads and writes delivers the 
most differential over sending those reads and writes over the wire.  
This is most likely to occur when the network is extremely slow, 
congested, or distributed (as in a WAN).  However, network latency also
has a very high impact on the reliability of the oplock break 
mechanism, and thus increases the likelihood of encountering oplock 
problems that more than offset the potential perceived performance 
gain. Of course, if an oplock break never has to be sent, then this is 
the most advantageous scenario to utilize opportunistic locking.

If the network is slow, unreliable, or a WAN, then do not configure 
opportunistic locking if there is any chance of multiple users 
regularly opening the same file.


4.5 Multi-User Databases
Multi-user databases clearly pose a risk due to their very nature - 
they are typically heavily accessed by numerous users at random 
intervals.  Placing a multi-user database on a share with opportunistic
locking enabled will likely result in a locking management bottleneck 
on the Samba server.  Whether the database application is developed 
in-house or a commercially available product, ensure that the share 
has opportunistic locking disabled.


4.6 PDM Data Shares
Process Data Management (PDM) applications such as IMAN, Enovia, and 
Clearcase, are increasing in usage with Windows client platforms, and 
therefore SMB data stores.  PDM applications manage multi-user 
environments for critical data security and access.  The typical PDM 
environment is usually associated with sophisticated client design 
applications that will load data locally as demanded.  In addition, the
PDM application will usually monitor the data-state of each client.  
In this case, client-side data caching is best left to the local 
application and PDM server to negotiate and maintain.  It is 
appropriate to eliminate the client OS from any caching tasks, and the 
server from any oplock management, by disabling opportunistic locking on
the share.


4.7 Force User
Samba includes an smb.conf parameter called "force user" that changes 
the user accessing a share from the incoming user to whatever user is 
defined by the smb.conf variable.  If opportunistic locking is enabled 
on a share, the change in user access causes an oplock break to be sent
to the client, even if the user has not explicitly loaded a file.  In 
cases where the network is slow or unreliable, an oplock break can 
become lost without the user even accessing a file.  This can cause 
apparent performance degradation as the client continually reconnects 
to overcome the lost oplock break. 

So avoid the following combination:

              * "force user" in smb.conf share configuration, and
              * Slow or unreliable networks, and
              * Opportunistic locking


4.8 Advanced Samba Opportunistic Locking Parameters
Samba provides opportunistic locking parameters that allow the 
administrator to adjust various properties of the oplock mechanism to 
account for timing and usage levels.  These parameters provide good 
versatility for implementing oplocks in environments where they would 
likely cause problems.  The parameters are:

             * oplock break wait time
             * oplock contention limit

For most users, administrators, and environments, if these parameters 
are required, then the better option is to simply turn oplocks off.  
The samba SWAT help text for both parameters reads "DO NOT CHANGE THIS 
PARAMETER UNLESS YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE SAMBA OPLOCK CODE." 
This is good advice.
  

4.9 Mission Critical High Availability
In mission critical high availability environments, data integrity is 
often a priority.  Complex and expensive configurations are implemented
to ensure that if a client loses connectivity with a file server, a 
failover replacement will be available immediately to provide 
continuous data availability.  

Windows client failover behavior is more at risk of application 
interruption than other platforms because it is dependant upon an 
established TCP transport connection.  If the connection is interrupted
- as in a file server failover - a new session must be established.  
It is rare for Windows client applications to be coded to recover 
correctly from a transport connection loss, therefore most applications
will experience some sort of interruption - at worst, abort and 
require restarting.

If a client session has been caching writes and reads locally due to 
opportunistic locking, it is likely that the data will be lost when the
application restarts, or recovers from the TCP interrupt. When the TCP 
connection drops, the client state is lost.  When the file server 
recovers, an oplock break is not sent to the client.  In this case, the
work from the prior session is lost.  Observing this scenario with 
oplocks disabled, and the client was writing data to the file server 
real-time, then the failover will provide the data on disk as it 
existed at the time of the disconnect.  

In mission critical high availability environments, careful attention 
should be given to opportunistic locking.  Ideally, comprehensive 
testing should be done with all affected applications with oplocks 
enabled and disabled.



Chapter 5 

Summary 
Windows Opportunistic Locking is a lightweight performance-enhancing 
feature.  It is not a robust and reliable protocol.  Every 
implementation of Opportunistic Locking should be evaluated as a 
tradeoff between perceived performance and reliability.  Reliability 
decreases as each successive rule above is not enforced.  Consider a 
share with oplocks enabled, over a wide area network, to a client on a 
South Pacific atoll, on a high-availability server, serving a 
mission-critical multi-user corporate database, during a tropical 
storm.  This configuration will likely encounter problems with oplocks.

Oplocks can be beneficial to perceived client performance when treated 
as a configuration toggle for client-side data caching.  If the data 
caching is likely to be interrupted, then oplock usage should be 
reviewed.  Samba enables opportunistic locking by default on all 
shares.  Careful attention should be given to the client usage of 
shared data on the server, the server network reliability, and the 
opportunistic locking configuration of each share.  











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