Notice

This document is for a development version of Ceph.

File System Shares Over SMB

CephFS access can be provided to clients using the SMB protocol via the Samba suite and samba-container images - managed by Ceph.

The smb manager module provides an interface for deploying and controlling clusters of Samba services as well as managing SMB shares. In the smb manager module a cluster is a logical management unit that may map to one or more managed Samba service - by itself a cluster may or may not be using any high-availability mechanisms.

If the module is not already enabled on your cluster you can enable by running ceph mgr module enable smb.

There are two ways of interacting with the smb module. The imperative method uses commands like ceph smb cluster create ... and ceph smb share rm ... and should be very familiar to those who have used Ceph’s nfs manager module on the command line. The declarative method uses the command ceph smb apply to process “resource descriptions” specified in YAML or JSON. This method should be familiar to those who have used Ceph orchestration with cephadm, just using SMB specific resource types.

Note

Ceph managed Samba only supports SMB2 and SMB3 versions of the protocol. The SMB1 version of the protocol, sometimes known as CIFS, is not supported. Some systems, such as the Linux kernel, provide tooling for both SMB1 and SMB2+ under the CIFS moniker. Check the documentation of the software packages used to ensure they support SMB2+ regardless of how the tool is named.

Note

At this time, the smb module requires cephadm orchestration. It does not function without orchestration.

Management Commands - Imperative Style

Cluster Commands

Create Cluster

$ ceph smb cluster create <cluster_id> {user|active-directory} [--domain-realm=<domain_realm>] [--domain-join-user-pass=<domain_join_user_pass>] [--custom-dns=<custom_dns>] [--placement=<placement>]

Create a new logical cluster, identified by the cluster id value. The cluster create command must specify the authentication mode the cluster will use. This may either be one of:

Custom users and groups, also known as a standalone server, with the user keyword
An Active Directory (AD) domain member server, with the active-directory keyword

Options:

cluster_id: A short string uniquely identifying the cluster
auth_mode: One of user or active-directory
domain_realm: The domain/realm value identifying the AD domain. Required when choosing active-directory
domain_join_user_pass: A string in the form <username>%<password> that will be used to join Samba servers to the AD domain.
custom_dns: Optional. Can be specified multiple times. One or more IP Addresses that will be applied to the Samba containers to override the default DNS resolver(s). This option is intended to be used when the host Ceph node is not configured to resolve DNS entries within AD domain(s).
placement: A Ceph orchestration placement specifier

Remove Cluster

$ ceph smb cluster rm <cluster_id>

Remove a logical SMB cluster from the Ceph cluster.

List Clusters

$ ceph smb cluster ls [--format=<format>]

Print a listing of cluster ids. The output defaults to JSON, select YAML encoding with the --format=yaml option.

Management Commands - Declarative Style

In addition to the basic imperative management commands the smb manager module supports configuration using declarative resource specifications. Resource specifications can be written in either JSON or YAML. These resource specifications can be applied to the cluster using the ceph smb apply command, for example:

$ ceph smb apply -i /path/to/resources.yaml

Resources that have already been applied to the Ceph cluster configuration can be viewed using the ceph smb show command. For example:

$ ceph smb show [<resource_name>...]

The show command can show all resources of a given type or specific resources by id. resource_name arguments can take the following forms:

ceph.smb.cluster: show all cluster resources
ceph.smb.cluster.<cluster_id>: show specific cluster with given cluster id
ceph.smb.share: show all share resources
ceph.smb.share.<cluster_id>: show all share resources part of the given cluster
ceph.smb.share.<cluster_id>.<share_id>: show specific share resource with the given cluster and share ids
ceph.smb.usersgroups: show all Users & Groups resources
ceph.smb.usersgroups.<users_goups_id>: show a specific Users & Groups resource
ceph.smb.join.auth: show all join auth resources
ceph.smb.join.auth.<auth_id>: show a specific join auth resource

For example:

$ ceph smb show ceph.smb.cluster.bob ceph.smb.share.bob

Will show one cluster resource (if it exists) for the cluster “bob” as well as all share resources associated with the cluster “bob”.

Note

The show subcommand prints out resources in the same form that the apply command accepts, making it possible to “round-trip” values between show and apply.

Composing Resource Specifications

A resource specification is made up of one or more Ceph SMB resource descriptions written in either JSON or YAML formats. More than one resource can be specified if the resources are contained within a JSON/YAML list, or a JSON/YAML object containing the key resources with a corresponding list value containing the resources. Additionally, a YAML specification may consist of a series of YAML documents each containing a resource.

An example YAML based simple list looks like the following:

- resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
  cluster_id: rhumba
  # ... other fields skipped for brevity ...
- resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
  cluster_id: salsa
  # ... other fields skipped for brevity ...
- resource_type: ceph.smb.share
  cluster_id: salsa
  share_id: foo
  # ... other fields skipped for brevity ...

An example JSON based simple list looks like the following:

[
  {"resource_type": "ceph.smb.cluster",
   "cluster_id": "rhumba",
   "...": "... other fields skipped for brevity ..."
  },
  {"resource_type": "ceph.smb.cluster",
   "cluster_id": "salsa",
   "...": "... other fields skipped for brevity ..."
  },
  {"resource_type": "ceph.smb.share",
   "cluster_id": "salsa",
   "share_id": "foo",
   "...": "... other fields skipped for brevity ..."
  }
]

An example YAML based resource list looks like the following:

resources:
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
    cluster_id: rhumba
    # ... other fields skipped for brevity ...
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
    cluster_id: salsa
    # ... other fields skipped for brevity ...
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.share
    cluster_id: salsa
    share_id: foo
    # ... other fields skipped for brevity ...

An example JSON based resoure list looks like the following:

{
  "resources": [
    {"resource_type": "ceph.smb.cluster",
     "cluster_id": "rhumba",
     "...": "... other fields skipped for brevity ..."
    },
    {"resource_type": "ceph.smb.cluster",
     "cluster_id": "salsa",
     "...": "... other fields skipped for brevity ..."
    },
    {"resource_type": "ceph.smb.share",
     "cluster_id": "salsa",
     "share_id": "foo",
     "...": "... other fields skipped for brevity ..."
    }
  ]
}

An example YAML resource list consisting of multiple documents looks like the following:

---
resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
cluster_id: rhumba
# ... other fields skipped for brevity ...
---
resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
cluster_id: salsa
# ... other fields skipped for brevity ...
---
resource_type: ceph.smb.share
cluster_id: salsa
share_id: foo
# ... other fields skipped for brevity ...

Each individual resource description must belong to one of the types described below.

Note

For brevity, all following examples will use YAML only. Assume that the equivalent JSON forms are valid.

Cluster Resource

A cluster resource supports the following fields:

resource_type

A literal string ceph.smb.cluster

cluster_id

A short string identifying the cluster

auth_mode

One of user or active-directory

intent

One of present or removed. If not provided, present is assumed. If removed all following fields are optional

domain_settings

Object. Ignored/optional for user auth. Required for active-directory Fields:

realm: Required string. AD domain/realm name.
join_sources: Required list. Each element is an object with join source fields

user_group_settings

List. Ignored/optional for active-directory. Each element is an object with user group source fields

custom_dns

Optional. List of IP Addresses. IP addresses will be used as DNS resolver(s) in Samba containers allowing the containers to use domain DNS even if the Ceph host does not

placement

Optional. A Ceph Orchestration placement specifier. Defaults to one host if not provided

A join source object supports the following fields:

source_type

One of password or resource

auth

Object. Required for source_type: password. Fields:

username:: Required string. User with ability to join a system to AD.
password:: Required string. The AD user’s password

ref

String. Required for source_type: resource. Must refer to the ID of a ceph.smb.join.auth resource

A user group source object supports the following fields:

source_type

One of inline or resource

values

Object. Required for source_type: inline. Fields:

users

List of objects. Fields:

username: A user name
password: A password

groups

List of objects. Fields:

name: The name of the group

ref

String. Required for source_type: resource. Must refer to the ID of a ceph.smb.join.auth resource

The following is an example of a cluster configured for AD membership:

resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
cluster_id: tango
auth_mode: active-directory
domain_settings:
  realm: DOMAIN1.SINK.TEST
  join_sources:
    # this join source refers to a join auth resource with id "join1-admin"
    - source_type: resource
      ref: join1-admin
custom_dns:
  - "192.168.76.204"
placement:
  count: 1

The following is an example of a cluster configured for standalone operation:

resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
cluster_id: rhumba
auth_mode: user
user_group_settings:
  - source_type: inline
    values:
      users:
        - name: chuckx
          password: 3xample101
        - name: steves
          password: F00Bar123
      groups: []
placement:
  hosts:
    - node6.mycluster.sink.test

An example cluster resource with intent to remove:

resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
cluster_id: rhumba
intent: removed

Join-Auth Resource

A join auth resource supports the following fields:

resource_type

A literal string ceph.smb.join.auth

auth_id

A short string identifying the join auth resource

intent

One of present or removed. If not provided, present is assumed. If removed all following fields are optional

auth

Required object. Fields:

username: Required string. User with ability to join a system to AD
password: Required string. The AD user’s password

Example:

resource_type: ceph.smb.join.auth
auth_id: join1-admin
auth:
  username: Administrator
  password: Passw0rd

Users-and-Groups Resource

A users & groups resource supports the following fields:

resource_type

A literal string ceph.smb.usersgroups

users_groups_id

A short string identifying the users and groups resource

intent

One of present or removed. If not provided, present is assumed. If removed all following fields are optional.

values

Required object. Fields:

users

List of objects. Fields:

username: A user name
password: A password

groups

List of objects. Fields:

name: The name of the group

Example:

resource_type: ceph.smb.usersgroups
users_groups_id: ug1
values:
  users:
    - name: chuckx
      password: 3xample101
    - name: steves
      password: F00Bar123
    groups: []

A Declarative Configuration Example

Using the resource descriptions above we can put together an example that creates a cluster and shares from scratch based on a resource configuration file. First, create the YAML with the contents:

resources:
  # Define an AD member server cluster
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
    cluster_id: tango
    auth_mode: active-directory
    domain_settings:
      realm: DOMAIN1.SINK.TEST
      join_sources:
        - source_type: resource
          ref: join1-admin
    custom_dns:
      - "192.168.76.204"
    # deploy 1 set of samba containers on a host labeled "ilovesmb"
    placement:
      count: 1
      label: ilovesmb
  # Define a join auth that our cluster will use to join AD
  # Warning: Typically you do not want to use the Administrator user
  # to perform joins on a production AD
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.join.auth
    auth_id: join1-admin
    auth:
      username: Administrator
      password: Passw0rd
  # A share that uses the root of a subvolume
  # The share name is the same as its id
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.share
    cluster_id: tango
    share_id: cache
    cephfs:
      volume: cephfs
      subvolumegroup: smb1
      subvolume: cache
      path: /
  # A share that uses the a sub-dir of a subvolume
  # The share name is not the same as its id
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.share
    cluster_id: tango
    share_id: sp1
    name: "Staff Pics"
    cephfs:
      volume: cephfs
      path: /pics
      subvolumegroup: smb1
      subvolume: staff

Save this text to a YAML file named resources.yaml and make it available on a cluster admin host. Then run:

$ ceph smb apply -i resources.yaml

The command will print a summary of the changes made and begin to automatically deploy the needed resources. See Accessing Shares for more information about how to test this example deployment.

Later, if these resources are no longer needed they can be cleaned up in one action with a new file removed.yaml containing:

resources:
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.cluster
    cluster_id: tango
    intent: removed
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.join.auth
    auth_id: join1-admin
    intent: removed
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.share
    cluster_id: tango
    share_id: cache
    intent: removed
  - resource_type: ceph.smb.share
    cluster_id: tango
    share_id: sp1
    intent: removed

By issuing the command:

$ ceph smb apply -i removed.yaml

SMB Cluster Management

The smb module will automatically deploy logical clusters on hosts using cephadm orchestration. This orchestration is automatically triggered when a cluster has been configured for at least one share. The placement field of the cluster resource is passed onto the orchestration layer and is used to determine on what nodes of the Ceph cluster Samba containers will be run.

At this time Samba services can only listen on port 445. Due to this restriction only one Samba server, as part of one cluster, may run on a single Ceph node at a time. Ensure that the placement specs on each cluster do not overlap.

The smb clusters are fully isolated from each other. This means that, as long as you have sufficient resources in your Ceph cluster, you can run multiple independent clusters that may or may not join the same AD domains/forests. However you should not share a directory with multiple different clusters that may have different authentication modes and/or identity mapping schemes.

Note

Future versions of the smb module may programatically attempt to prevent such conditions.

Accessing Shares

Once a cluster and it’s component Samba containers have been deployed and the shares have been configured clients may connect to the servers. Microsoft Windows systems have SMB support built in and using Windows Explorer a share can be specified like so: \\<hostname>\<sharename>. For example: \\ceph0.mycluster.sink.test\Staff Pics. The Windows node should automatically attempt to log into the share. If the cluster and Windows client are both configured for the same AD Domain then a password-less single sign-on login will automatically be performed. If the cluster is configured for user auth, a username and password prompt should appear. Enter one user name and password combination that was specified in the cluster and/or ceph.smb.usersgroups resource.

MacOS X systems and many Linux based systems also support connecting to SMB shares. Consult the documentation for those Operating Systems and Distributions for how to connect to SMB shares.

A Ceph cluster operator wanting to quickly test a share is functioning may want to install smbclient or use the Samba Client Container image available from the samba-container project with the image quay.io/samba.org/samba-client:latest. On a client or within the container run smbclient -U <username> //<hostname>/<sharename> and enter the password at the prompt. Refer to the smbclient documentation for more details.

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File System Shares Over SMB

Management Commands - Imperative Style

Cluster Commands

Create Cluster

Remove Cluster

List Clusters

Share Commands

Create Share

Remove Share

List Shares

Management Commands - Declarative Style

Composing Resource Specifications

Cluster Resource

Share Resource

Join-Auth Resource

Users-and-Groups Resource

A Declarative Configuration Example

SMB Cluster Management

Accessing Shares