SORT BY:

LIST ORDER
THREAD
AUTHOR
SUBJECT


SEARCH

IPS HOME


    [Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

    header and data digest issue



    I think there is a problem with the current design of the
    header and data digest.
    There is a non-zero chance that an error could cause
    the target to process a single pdu that has a header from
    one pdu and data from a second pdu.
    
    This type of error is undetectable by the target with the CRC32C
    digests turned on.
    
    For example:
            Initiator sends pdu 1 which contains header H1 and data D1
            Initiator sends pdu 2 which contains header H2 and data D2
            Target receives pdu 1 which contains header H1 and data D1
            Target receives pdu 2 which contains header H2 and data D1 (bad)
    In this example the header and data digests will checksum correctly.
    However the wrong data will be written to addresses indicated in H2.
    
    There are three obvious places this error can occur:
            1. the initiator
            2. an intelligent router/switch
            3. the target
    
    Not much can be done about initiator problems.
    But I would like to detect problems introduced by the other areas.
    
    I think it is actually likely that my target software will run
    in an environment that produces this type of error.
    Imagining how an intelligent router/switch or off-board iSCSI target
    hardware might operate, it is probably only a single bit logic error
    that could cause this type of error.
    
    Maybe it is not appropriate to address this problem in the iSCSI spec
    because I have described a problem that would not occur on the wire.
    However iSCSI is the mechanism that allows more hardware and software
    to be interposed between the SCSI initiator and the SCSI target.
    iSCSI should not allow a single bit logic error in this additional
    hardware and software to produce an undetectable error.
    
    Bob
    
    


Home

Last updated: Wed Mar 13 21:18:32 2002
9100 messages in chronological order