Storage bandwidth is wasted during template uploads/imports
- Dominant language
- Java
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- 6d 19h
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Description
At the moment when a template is being imported (via url or upload) there is a phase called "Installing template" or something similar. From what I noticed this phase calculates a hash and saves it to the database by reading the downloaded file over the storage network.
During this phase the template is not usable and I believe that should not be the case. I understand that the hash has a purpose and I am not saying it should be removed but I believe this should be an optional task that should be done in background.
In the following examples I do not consider disk speeds, just network speed/bandwidth.
For normal templates this is not necessarily noticeable. Consider this scenario (best case):
Template size: 4GB
Ingress bandwidth: 100 mb/s
Storage bandwidth: 1 gb/s
Download time required: 5.45 seconds
Installing template time required: ~0.6 seconds
Most templates (not ISOs) however are considerably larger, some could be even up to 500 GB (I do have a few templates that I have to import with very large sizes).
In such a case, installing template time required would be about 75 seconds (best case).
During this time (installing template time) the whole bandwidth available for the storage network (if it even is on a separate NIC) would be used up by this process resulting in bad performance for the cluster.
Ways to fix this would be:
1. either compute the hash as the transfer is happening.
2. make it optional (maybe even opt-in) and do it in background only (maybe even limit the bandwidth used for this)
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start by tracing the template URL/upload import path around the “Installing template” phase, then identify where the downloaded file is reread from storage and where its hash is saved. Compare the transfer and storage-read steps. Done means template availability is not blocked by a separate full storage read, while the required hash remains correct and the proposed background or bandwidth behavior is defined.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- java
- Domain
- cloud, infrastructure, performance
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100