NBD (Network Block Device) and nbdkit are related technologies in the realm of virtualization and storage. They allow you to work with remote block devices and create flexible storage solutions. Here's an overview of each:
1. NBD (Network Block Device):
NBD is a protocol that allows you to access remote block devices over a network, as if they were local block devices. It provides a way to export disk images or block devices from a server to clients, enabling remote access and manipulation of these devices.
Key features of NBD include:
Block-Level Access: NBD operates at the block level, allowing you to read from and write to specific blocks on a remote device.
Flexibility: It's used in various scenarios such as diskless booting, live migration of virtual machines, and remote disk access for storage solutions.
Network Transport: NBD operates over the network and typically uses TCP/IP as the underlying transport.
Read-Only and Read-Write Modes: You can access remote devices in both read-only and read-write modes.
2. nbdkit:
nbdkit is a pluggable NBD server, providing a flexible and extensible way to serve remote block devices. It acts as an NBD server that can be extended using various plugins, allowing you to create custom storage solutions tailored to your needs.