CephFS and OpenStack Manila: File Sharing Without the Headaches (Mostly!)

This talk presents an overview of integration strategies between CephFS and OpenStack Manila, tracing the development and synergies between Ceph’s distributed file system and OpenStack’s file share service. We’ll share reasons why CephFS has emerged as the most popular cloud file sharing option with OpenStack Manila. Through the history, you’ll see how this integration has evolved to meet the demanding needs of large-scale cloud environments.

We'll review the key features that set CephFS apart, from its scalable architecture to features that support various application types and workloads. Not all CephFS options are equal—choosing the right access protocol can have significant impacts on system performance, scalability, and security. We’ll discuss the advantages and limitations of using CephFS Native, which offers close-to-the-metal performance but may introduce complexities and dependencies unsuited for some cloud infrastructures. We’ll then explore CephFS NFS, a more universally compatible solution, but with its own performance and scalability trade-offs. This comparison will help participants identify the scenarios where each approach shines—and where they might introduce challenges.

Finally, we’ll explore the future roadmap of CephFS in OpenStack Manila. Features like the SMB/CIFS driver and VirtIOFS are on the horizon, each promising to unlock new potential. The SMB driver brings compatibility with Windows environments, broadening CephFS’s use cases, while VirtIOFS introduces high-performance file sharing for VMs and containers. Both of these developments are expected to expand the versatility of OpenStack Manila, particularly in hybrid and multi-platform clouds.

This session will be valuable to OpenStack operators, developers, and anyone interested in the technical and strategic choices around cloud file sharing. Join us to discuss the present and future of CephFS and OpenStack Manila, and discover the potential for these technologies to transform your infrastructure.