Merge pull request 'NLnet task 3' (#667) from nlnet-task3 into next-0.10

Reviewed-on: https://git.deuxfleurs.fr/Deuxfleurs/garage/pulls/667

7 files changed, 2864 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/src/rpc/layout/graph_algo.rs b/src/rpc/layout/graph_algo.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bd33e97f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rpc/layout/graph_algo.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,405 @@
+//! This module deals with graph algorithms.
+//! It is used in layout.rs to build the partition to node assignment.
+
+use rand::prelude::{SeedableRng, SliceRandom};
+use std::cmp::{max, min};
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::collections::VecDeque;
+
+/// Vertex data structures used in all the graphs used in layout.rs.
+/// usize parameters correspond to node/zone/partitions ids.
+/// To understand the vertex roles below, please refer to the formal description
+/// of the layout computation algorithm.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
+pub enum Vertex {
+	Source,
+	Pup(usize),       // The vertex p+ of partition p
+	Pdown(usize),     // The vertex p- of partition p
+	PZ(usize, usize), // The vertex corresponding to x_(partition p, zone z)
+	N(usize),         // The vertex corresponding to node n
+	Sink,
+}
+
+/// Edge data structure for the flow algorithm.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
+pub struct FlowEdge {
+	cap: u64,    // flow maximal capacity of the edge
+	flow: i64,   // flow value on the edge
+	dest: usize, // destination vertex id
+	rev: usize,  // index of the reversed edge (v, self) in the edge list of vertex v
+}
+
+/// Edge data structure for the detection of negative cycles.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
+pub struct WeightedEdge {
+	w: i64, // weight of the edge
+	dest: usize,
+}
+
+pub trait Edge: Clone + Copy {}
+impl Edge for FlowEdge {}
+impl Edge for WeightedEdge {}
+
+/// Struct for the graph structure. We do encapsulation here to be able to both
+/// provide user friendly Vertex enum to address vertices, and to use internally usize
+/// indices and Vec instead of HashMap in the graph algorithm to optimize execution speed.
+pub struct Graph<E: Edge> {
+	vertex_to_id: HashMap<Vertex, usize>,
+	id_to_vertex: Vec<Vertex>,
+
+	// The graph is stored as an adjacency list
+	graph: Vec<Vec<E>>,
+}
+
+pub type CostFunction = HashMap<(Vertex, Vertex), i64>;
+
+impl<E: Edge> Graph<E> {
+	pub fn new(vertices: &[Vertex]) -> Self {
+		let mut map = HashMap::<Vertex, usize>::new();
+		for (i, vert) in vertices.iter().enumerate() {
+			map.insert(*vert, i);
+		}
+		Graph::<E> {
+			vertex_to_id: map,
+			id_to_vertex: vertices.to_vec(),
+			graph: vec![Vec::<E>::new(); vertices.len()],
+		}
+	}
+
+	fn get_vertex_id(&self, v: &Vertex) -> Result<usize, String> {
+		self.vertex_to_id
+			.get(v)
+			.cloned()
+			.ok_or_else(|| format!("The graph does not contain vertex {:?}", v))
+	}
+}
+
+impl Graph<FlowEdge> {
+	/// This function adds a directed edge to the graph with capacity c, and the
+	/// corresponding reversed edge with capacity 0.
+	pub fn add_edge(&mut self, u: Vertex, v: Vertex, c: u64) -> Result<(), String> {
+		let idu = self.get_vertex_id(&u)?;
+		let idv = self.get_vertex_id(&v)?;
+		if idu == idv {
+			return Err("Cannot add edge from vertex to itself in flow graph".into());
+		}
+
+		let rev_u = self.graph[idu].len();
+		let rev_v = self.graph[idv].len();
+		self.graph[idu].push(FlowEdge {
+			cap: c,
+			dest: idv,
+			flow: 0,
+			rev: rev_v,
+		});
+		self.graph[idv].push(FlowEdge {
+			cap: 0,
+			dest: idu,
+			flow: 0,
+			rev: rev_u,
+		});
+		Ok(())
+	}
+
+	/// This function returns the list of vertices that receive a positive flow from
+	/// vertex v.
+	pub fn get_positive_flow_from(&self, v: Vertex) -> Result<Vec<Vertex>, String> {
+		let idv = self.get_vertex_id(&v)?;
+		let mut result = Vec::<Vertex>::new();
+		for edge in self.graph[idv].iter() {
+			if edge.flow > 0 {
+				result.push(self.id_to_vertex[edge.dest]);
+			}
+		}
+		Ok(result)
+	}
+
+	/// This function returns the value of the flow outgoing from v.
+	pub fn get_outflow(&self, v: Vertex) -> Result<i64, String> {
+		let idv = self.get_vertex_id(&v)?;
+		let mut result = 0;
+		for edge in self.graph[idv].iter() {
+			result += max(0, edge.flow);
+		}
+		Ok(result)
+	}
+
+	/// This function computes the flow total value by computing the outgoing flow
+	/// from the source.
+	pub fn get_flow_value(&mut self) -> Result<i64, String> {
+		self.get_outflow(Vertex::Source)
+	}
+
+	/// This function shuffles the order of the edge lists. It keeps the ids of the
+	/// reversed edges consistent.
+	fn shuffle_edges(&mut self) {
+		// We use deterministic randomness so that the layout calculation algorihtm
+		// will output the same thing every time it is run. This way, the results
+		// pre-calculated in `garage layout show` will match exactly those used
+		// in practice with `garage layout apply`
+		let mut rng = rand::rngs::StdRng::from_seed([0x12u8; 32]);
+		for i in 0..self.graph.len() {
+			self.graph[i].shuffle(&mut rng);
+			// We need to update the ids of the reverse edges.
+			for j in 0..self.graph[i].len() {
+				let target_v = self.graph[i][j].dest;
+				let target_rev = self.graph[i][j].rev;
+				self.graph[target_v][target_rev].rev = j;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	/// Computes an upper bound of the flow on the graph
+	pub fn flow_upper_bound(&self) -> Result<u64, String> {
+		let idsource = self.get_vertex_id(&Vertex::Source)?;
+		let mut flow_upper_bound = 0;
+		for edge in self.graph[idsource].iter() {
+			flow_upper_bound += edge.cap;
+		}
+		Ok(flow_upper_bound)
+	}
+
+	/// This function computes the maximal flow using Dinic's algorithm. It starts with
+	/// the flow values already present in the graph. So it is possible to add some edge to
+	/// the graph, compute a flow, add other edges, update the flow.
+	pub fn compute_maximal_flow(&mut self) -> Result<(), String> {
+		let idsource = self.get_vertex_id(&Vertex::Source)?;
+		let idsink = self.get_vertex_id(&Vertex::Sink)?;
+
+		let nb_vertices = self.graph.len();
+
+		let flow_upper_bound = self.flow_upper_bound()?;
+
+		// To ensure the dispersion of the associations generated by the
+		// assignment, we shuffle the neighbours of the nodes. Hence,
+		// the vertices do not consider their neighbours in the same order.
+		self.shuffle_edges();
+
+		// We run Dinic's max flow algorithm
+		loop {
+			// We build the level array from Dinic's algorithm.
+			let mut level = vec![None; nb_vertices];
+
+			let mut fifo = VecDeque::new();
+			fifo.push_back((idsource, 0));
+			while let Some((id, lvl)) = fifo.pop_front() {
+				if level[id].is_none() {
+					// it means id has not yet been reached
+					level[id] = Some(lvl);
+					for edge in self.graph[id].iter() {
+						if edge.cap as i64 - edge.flow > 0 {
+							fifo.push_back((edge.dest, lvl + 1));
+						}
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			if level[idsink].is_none() {
+				// There is no residual flow
+				break;
+			}
+			// Now we run DFS respecting the level array
+			let mut next_nbd = vec![0; nb_vertices];
+			let mut lifo = Vec::new();
+
+			lifo.push((idsource, flow_upper_bound));
+
+			while let Some((id, f)) = lifo.last().cloned() {
+				if id == idsink {
+					// The DFS reached the sink, we can add a
+					// residual flow.
+					lifo.pop();
+					while let Some((id, _)) = lifo.pop() {
+						let nbd = next_nbd[id];
+						self.graph[id][nbd].flow += f as i64;
+						let id_rev = self.graph[id][nbd].dest;
+						let nbd_rev = self.graph[id][nbd].rev;
+						self.graph[id_rev][nbd_rev].flow -= f as i64;
+					}
+					lifo.push((idsource, flow_upper_bound));
+					continue;
+				}
+				// else we did not reach the sink
+				let nbd = next_nbd[id];
+				if nbd >= self.graph[id].len() {
+					// There is nothing to explore from id anymore
+					lifo.pop();
+					if let Some((parent, _)) = lifo.last() {
+						next_nbd[*parent] += 1;
+					}
+					continue;
+				}
+				// else we can try to send flow from id to its nbd
+				let new_flow = min(
+					f as i64,
+					self.graph[id][nbd].cap as i64 - self.graph[id][nbd].flow,
+				) as u64;
+				if new_flow == 0 {
+					next_nbd[id] += 1;
+					continue;
+				}
+				if let (Some(lvldest), Some(lvlid)) = (level[self.graph[id][nbd].dest], level[id]) {
+					if lvldest <= lvlid {
+						// We cannot send flow to nbd.
+						next_nbd[id] += 1;
+						continue;
+					}
+				}
+				// otherwise, we send flow to nbd.
+				lifo.push((self.graph[id][nbd].dest, new_flow));
+			}
+		}
+		Ok(())
+	}
+
+	/// This function takes a flow, and a cost function on the edges, and tries to find an
+	/// equivalent flow with a better cost, by finding improving overflow cycles. It uses
+	/// as subroutine the Bellman Ford algorithm run up to path_length.
+	/// We assume that the cost of edge (u,v) is the opposite of the cost of (v,u), and
+	/// only one needs to be present in the cost function.
+	pub fn optimize_flow_with_cost(
+		&mut self,
+		cost: &CostFunction,
+		path_length: usize,
+	) -> Result<(), String> {
+		// We build the weighted graph g where we will look for negative cycle
+		let mut gf = self.build_cost_graph(cost)?;
+		let mut cycles = gf.list_negative_cycles(path_length);
+		while !cycles.is_empty() {
+			// we enumerate negative cycles
+			for c in cycles.iter() {
+				for i in 0..c.len() {
+					// We add one flow unit to the edge (u,v) of cycle c
+					let idu = self.vertex_to_id[&c[i]];
+					let idv = self.vertex_to_id[&c[(i + 1) % c.len()]];
+					for j in 0..self.graph[idu].len() {
+						// since idu appears at most once in the cycles, we enumerate every
+						// edge at most once.
+						let edge = self.graph[idu][j];
+						if edge.dest == idv {
+							self.graph[idu][j].flow += 1;
+							self.graph[idv][edge.rev].flow -= 1;
+							break;
+						}
+					}
+				}
+			}
+
+			gf = self.build_cost_graph(cost)?;
+			cycles = gf.list_negative_cycles(path_length);
+		}
+		Ok(())
+	}
+
+	/// Construct the weighted graph G_f from the flow and the cost function
+	fn build_cost_graph(&self, cost: &CostFunction) -> Result<Graph<WeightedEdge>, String> {
+		let mut g = Graph::<WeightedEdge>::new(&self.id_to_vertex);
+		let nb_vertices = self.id_to_vertex.len();
+		for i in 0..nb_vertices {
+			for edge in self.graph[i].iter() {
+				if edge.cap as i64 - edge.flow > 0 {
+					// It is possible to send overflow through this edge
+					let u = self.id_to_vertex[i];
+					let v = self.id_to_vertex[edge.dest];
+					if cost.contains_key(&(u, v)) {
+						g.add_edge(u, v, cost[&(u, v)])?;
+					} else if cost.contains_key(&(v, u)) {
+						g.add_edge(u, v, -cost[&(v, u)])?;
+					} else {
+						g.add_edge(u, v, 0)?;
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		Ok(g)
+	}
+}
+
+impl Graph<WeightedEdge> {
+	/// This function adds a single directed weighted edge to the graph.
+	pub fn add_edge(&mut self, u: Vertex, v: Vertex, w: i64) -> Result<(), String> {
+		let idu = self.get_vertex_id(&u)?;
+		let idv = self.get_vertex_id(&v)?;
+		self.graph[idu].push(WeightedEdge { w, dest: idv });
+		Ok(())
+	}
+
+	/// This function lists the negative cycles it manages to find after path_length
+	/// iterations of the main loop of the Bellman-Ford algorithm. For the classical
+	/// algorithm, path_length needs to be equal to the number of vertices. However,
+	/// for particular graph structures like in our case, the algorithm is still correct
+	/// when path_length is the length of the longest possible simple path.
+	/// See the formal description of the algorithm for more details.
+	fn list_negative_cycles(&self, path_length: usize) -> Vec<Vec<Vertex>> {
+		let nb_vertices = self.graph.len();
+
+		// We start with every vertex at distance 0 of some imaginary extra -1 vertex.
+		let mut distance = vec![0; nb_vertices];
+		// The prev vector collects for every vertex from where does the shortest path come
+		let mut prev = vec![None; nb_vertices];
+
+		for _ in 0..path_length + 1 {
+			for id in 0..nb_vertices {
+				for e in self.graph[id].iter() {
+					if distance[id] + e.w < distance[e.dest] {
+						distance[e.dest] = distance[id] + e.w;
+						prev[e.dest] = Some(id);
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		// If self.graph contains a negative cycle, then at this point the graph described
+		// by prev (which is a directed 1-forest/functional graph)
+		// must contain a cycle. We list the cycles of prev.
+		let cycles_prev = cycles_of_1_forest(&prev);
+
+		// Remark that the cycle in prev is in the reverse order compared to the cycle
+		// in the graph. Thus the .rev().
+		return cycles_prev
+			.iter()
+			.map(|cycle| {
+				cycle
+					.iter()
+					.rev()
+					.map(|id| self.id_to_vertex[*id])
+					.collect()
+			})
+			.collect();
+	}
+}
+
+/// This function returns the list of cycles of a directed 1 forest. It does not
+/// check for the consistency of the input.
+fn cycles_of_1_forest(forest: &[Option<usize>]) -> Vec<Vec<usize>> {
+	let mut cycles = Vec::<Vec<usize>>::new();
+	let mut time_of_discovery = vec![None; forest.len()];
+
+	for t in 0..forest.len() {
+		let mut id = t;
+		// while we are on a valid undiscovered node
+		while time_of_discovery[id].is_none() {
+			time_of_discovery[id] = Some(t);
+			if let Some(i) = forest[id] {
+				id = i;
+			} else {
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+		if forest[id].is_some() && time_of_discovery[id] == Some(t) {
+			// We discovered an id that we explored at this iteration t.
+			// It means we are on a cycle
+			let mut cy = vec![id; 1];
+			let mut id2 = id;
+			while let Some(id_next) = forest[id2] {
+				id2 = id_next;
+				if id2 != id {
+					cy.push(id2);
+				} else {
+					break;
+				}
+			}
+			cycles.push(cy);
+		}
+	}
+	cycles
+}
diff --git a/src/rpc/layout/helper.rs b/src/rpc/layout/helper.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9fb738ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rpc/layout/helper.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,294 @@
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::ops::Deref;
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering};
+
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+use garage_util::data::*;
+
+use super::*;
+use crate::replication_mode::ReplicationMode;
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, Default, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub struct RpcLayoutDigest {
+	/// Cluster layout version
+	pub current_version: u64,
+	/// Number of active layout versions
+	pub active_versions: usize,
+	/// Hash of cluster layout update trackers
+	pub trackers_hash: Hash,
+	/// Hash of cluster layout staging data
+	pub staging_hash: Hash,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, Eq, PartialEq)]
+pub struct SyncLayoutDigest {
+	current: u64,
+	ack_map_min: u64,
+	min_stored: u64,
+}
+
+pub struct LayoutHelper {
+	replication_mode: ReplicationMode,
+	layout: Option<LayoutHistory>,
+
+	// cached values
+	ack_map_min: u64,
+	sync_map_min: u64,
+
+	all_nodes: Vec<Uuid>,
+	all_nongateway_nodes: Vec<Uuid>,
+
+	trackers_hash: Hash,
+	staging_hash: Hash,
+
+	// ack lock: counts in-progress write operations for each
+	// layout version ; we don't increase the ack update tracker
+	// while this lock is nonzero
+	pub(crate) ack_lock: HashMap<u64, AtomicUsize>,
+}
+
+impl Deref for LayoutHelper {
+	type Target = LayoutHistory;
+	fn deref(&self) -> &LayoutHistory {
+		self.layout()
+	}
+}
+
+impl LayoutHelper {
+	pub fn new(
+		replication_mode: ReplicationMode,
+		mut layout: LayoutHistory,
+		mut ack_lock: HashMap<u64, AtomicUsize>,
+	) -> Self {
+		// In the new() function of the helper, we do a bunch of cleanup
+		// and calculations on the layout history to make sure things are
+		// correct and we have rapid access to important values such as
+		// the layout versions to use when reading to ensure consistency.
+
+		if !replication_mode.is_read_after_write_consistent() {
+			// Fast path for when no consistency is required.
+			// In this case we only need to keep the last version of the layout,
+			// we don't care about coordinating stuff in the cluster.
+			layout.keep_current_version_only();
+		}
+
+		layout.cleanup_old_versions();
+
+		let all_nodes = layout.get_all_nodes();
+		let all_nongateway_nodes = layout.get_all_nongateway_nodes();
+
+		layout.clamp_update_trackers(&all_nodes);
+
+		let min_version = layout.min_stored();
+
+		// ack_map_min is the minimum value of ack_map among all nodes
+		// in the cluster (gateway, non-gateway, current and previous layouts).
+		// It is the highest layout version which all of these nodes have
+		// acknowledged, indicating that they are aware of it and are no
+		// longer processing write operations that did not take it into account.
+		let ack_map_min = layout
+			.update_trackers
+			.ack_map
+			.min_among(&all_nodes, min_version);
+
+		// sync_map_min is the minimum value of sync_map among storage nodes
+		// in the cluster (non-gateway nodes only, current and previous layouts).
+		// It is the highest layout version for which we know that all relevant
+		// storage nodes have fullfilled a sync, and therefore it is safe to
+		// use a read quorum within that layout to ensure consistency.
+		// Gateway nodes are excluded here because they hold no relevant data
+		// (they store the bucket and access key tables, but we don't have
+		// consistency on those).
+		// This value is calculated using quorums to allow progress even
+		// if not all nodes have successfully completed a sync.
+		let sync_map_min =
+			layout.calculate_sync_map_min_with_quorum(replication_mode, &all_nongateway_nodes);
+
+		let trackers_hash = layout.calculate_trackers_hash();
+		let staging_hash = layout.calculate_staging_hash();
+
+		ack_lock.retain(|_, cnt| *cnt.get_mut() > 0);
+		ack_lock
+			.entry(layout.current().version)
+			.or_insert(AtomicUsize::new(0));
+
+		LayoutHelper {
+			replication_mode,
+			layout: Some(layout),
+			ack_map_min,
+			sync_map_min,
+			all_nodes,
+			all_nongateway_nodes,
+			trackers_hash,
+			staging_hash,
+			ack_lock,
+		}
+	}
+
+	// ------------------ single updating function --------------
+
+	fn layout(&self) -> &LayoutHistory {
+		self.layout.as_ref().unwrap()
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn update<F>(&mut self, f: F) -> bool
+	where
+		F: FnOnce(&mut LayoutHistory) -> bool,
+	{
+		let changed = f(self.layout.as_mut().unwrap());
+		if changed {
+			*self = Self::new(
+				self.replication_mode,
+				self.layout.take().unwrap(),
+				std::mem::take(&mut self.ack_lock),
+			);
+		}
+		changed
+	}
+
+	// ------------------ read helpers ---------------
+
+	pub fn all_nodes(&self) -> &[Uuid] {
+		&self.all_nodes
+	}
+
+	pub fn all_nongateway_nodes(&self) -> &[Uuid] {
+		&self.all_nongateway_nodes
+	}
+
+	pub fn ack_map_min(&self) -> u64 {
+		self.ack_map_min
+	}
+
+	pub fn sync_map_min(&self) -> u64 {
+		self.sync_map_min
+	}
+
+	pub fn sync_digest(&self) -> SyncLayoutDigest {
+		SyncLayoutDigest {
+			current: self.layout().current().version,
+			ack_map_min: self.ack_map_min(),
+			min_stored: self.layout().min_stored(),
+		}
+	}
+
+	pub fn read_nodes_of(&self, position: &Hash) -> Vec<Uuid> {
+		let sync_min = self.sync_map_min;
+		let version = self
+			.layout()
+			.versions
+			.iter()
+			.find(|x| x.version == sync_min)
+			.or(self.layout().versions.last())
+			.unwrap();
+		version
+			.nodes_of(position, version.replication_factor)
+			.collect()
+	}
+
+	pub fn storage_sets_of(&self, position: &Hash) -> Vec<Vec<Uuid>> {
+		self.layout()
+			.versions
+			.iter()
+			.map(|x| x.nodes_of(position, x.replication_factor).collect())
+			.collect()
+	}
+
+	pub fn storage_nodes_of(&self, position: &Hash) -> Vec<Uuid> {
+		let mut ret = vec![];
+		for version in self.layout().versions.iter() {
+			ret.extend(version.nodes_of(position, version.replication_factor));
+		}
+		ret.sort();
+		ret.dedup();
+		ret
+	}
+
+	pub fn trackers_hash(&self) -> Hash {
+		self.trackers_hash
+	}
+
+	pub fn staging_hash(&self) -> Hash {
+		self.staging_hash
+	}
+
+	pub fn digest(&self) -> RpcLayoutDigest {
+		RpcLayoutDigest {
+			current_version: self.current().version,
+			active_versions: self.versions.len(),
+			trackers_hash: self.trackers_hash,
+			staging_hash: self.staging_hash,
+		}
+	}
+
+	// ------------------ helpers for update tracking ---------------
+
+	pub(crate) fn update_trackers(&mut self, local_node_id: Uuid) {
+		// Ensure trackers for this node's values are up-to-date
+
+		// 1. Acknowledge the last layout version which is not currently
+		//    locked by an in-progress write operation
+		self.ack_max_free(local_node_id);
+
+		// 2. Assume the data on this node is sync'ed up at least to
+		//    the first layout version in the history
+		self.sync_first(local_node_id);
+
+		// 3. Acknowledge everyone has synced up to min(self.sync_map)
+		self.sync_ack(local_node_id);
+
+		debug!("ack_map: {:?}", self.update_trackers.ack_map);
+		debug!("sync_map: {:?}", self.update_trackers.sync_map);
+		debug!("sync_ack_map: {:?}", self.update_trackers.sync_ack_map);
+	}
+
+	fn sync_first(&mut self, local_node_id: Uuid) {
+		let first_version = self.min_stored();
+		self.update(|layout| {
+			layout
+				.update_trackers
+				.sync_map
+				.set_max(local_node_id, first_version)
+		});
+	}
+
+	fn sync_ack(&mut self, local_node_id: Uuid) {
+		let sync_map_min = self.sync_map_min;
+		self.update(|layout| {
+			layout
+				.update_trackers
+				.sync_ack_map
+				.set_max(local_node_id, sync_map_min)
+		});
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn ack_max_free(&mut self, local_node_id: Uuid) -> bool {
+		let max_ack = self.max_free_ack();
+		let changed = self.update(|layout| {
+			layout
+				.update_trackers
+				.ack_map
+				.set_max(local_node_id, max_ack)
+		});
+		if changed {
+			info!("ack_until updated to {}", max_ack);
+		}
+		changed
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn max_free_ack(&self) -> u64 {
+		self.layout()
+			.versions
+			.iter()
+			.map(|x| x.version)
+			.skip_while(|v| {
+				self.ack_lock
+					.get(v)
+					.map(|x| x.load(Ordering::Relaxed) == 0)
+					.unwrap_or(true)
+			})
+			.next()
+			.unwrap_or(self.current().version)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/rpc/layout/history.rs b/src/rpc/layout/history.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b8cc27da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rpc/layout/history.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,306 @@
+use std::collections::HashSet;
+
+use garage_util::crdt::{Crdt, Lww, LwwMap};
+use garage_util::data::*;
+use garage_util::encode::nonversioned_encode;
+use garage_util::error::*;
+
+use super::*;
+use crate::replication_mode::ReplicationMode;
+
+impl LayoutHistory {
+	pub fn new(replication_factor: usize) -> Self {
+		let version = LayoutVersion::new(replication_factor);
+
+		let staging = LayoutStaging {
+			parameters: Lww::<LayoutParameters>::new(version.parameters),
+			roles: LwwMap::new(),
+		};
+
+		LayoutHistory {
+			versions: vec![version],
+			old_versions: vec![],
+			update_trackers: Default::default(),
+			staging: Lww::raw(0, staging),
+		}
+	}
+
+	// ------------------ who stores what now? ---------------
+
+	pub fn current(&self) -> &LayoutVersion {
+		self.versions.last().as_ref().unwrap()
+	}
+
+	pub fn min_stored(&self) -> u64 {
+		self.versions.first().as_ref().unwrap().version
+	}
+
+	pub fn get_all_nodes(&self) -> Vec<Uuid> {
+		if self.versions.len() == 1 {
+			self.versions[0].all_nodes().to_vec()
+		} else {
+			let set = self
+				.versions
+				.iter()
+				.flat_map(|x| x.all_nodes())
+				.collect::<HashSet<_>>();
+			set.into_iter().copied().collect::<Vec<_>>()
+		}
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn get_all_nongateway_nodes(&self) -> Vec<Uuid> {
+		if self.versions.len() == 1 {
+			self.versions[0].nongateway_nodes().to_vec()
+		} else {
+			let set = self
+				.versions
+				.iter()
+				.flat_map(|x| x.nongateway_nodes())
+				.collect::<HashSet<_>>();
+			set.into_iter().copied().collect::<Vec<_>>()
+		}
+	}
+
+	// ---- housekeeping (all invoked by LayoutHelper) ----
+
+	pub(crate) fn keep_current_version_only(&mut self) {
+		while self.versions.len() > 1 {
+			let removed = self.versions.remove(0);
+			self.old_versions.push(removed);
+		}
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn cleanup_old_versions(&mut self) {
+		// If there are invalid versions before valid versions, remove them
+		if self.versions.len() > 1 && self.current().check().is_ok() {
+			while self.versions.len() > 1 && self.versions.first().unwrap().check().is_err() {
+				let removed = self.versions.remove(0);
+				info!(
+					"Layout history: pruning old invalid version {}",
+					removed.version
+				);
+			}
+		}
+
+		// If there are old versions that no one is reading from anymore,
+		// remove them (keep them in self.old_versions).
+		// ASSUMPTION: we only care about where nodes in the current layout version
+		// are reading from, as we assume older nodes are being discarded.
+		let current_nodes = &self.current().node_id_vec;
+		let min_version = self.min_stored();
+		let sync_ack_map_min = self
+			.update_trackers
+			.sync_ack_map
+			.min_among(current_nodes, min_version);
+		while self.min_stored() < sync_ack_map_min {
+			assert!(self.versions.len() > 1);
+			let removed = self.versions.remove(0);
+			info!(
+				"Layout history: moving version {} to old_versions",
+				removed.version
+			);
+			self.old_versions.push(removed);
+		}
+
+		while self.old_versions.len() > OLD_VERSION_COUNT {
+			let removed = self.old_versions.remove(0);
+			info!("Layout history: removing old_version {}", removed.version);
+		}
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn clamp_update_trackers(&mut self, nodes: &[Uuid]) {
+		let min_v = self.min_stored();
+		for node in nodes {
+			self.update_trackers.ack_map.set_max(*node, min_v);
+			self.update_trackers.sync_map.set_max(*node, min_v);
+			self.update_trackers.sync_ack_map.set_max(*node, min_v);
+		}
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn calculate_sync_map_min_with_quorum(
+		&self,
+		replication_mode: ReplicationMode,
+		all_nongateway_nodes: &[Uuid],
+	) -> u64 {
+		// This function calculates the minimum layout version from which
+		// it is safe to read if we want to maintain read-after-write consistency.
+		// In the general case the computation can be a bit expensive so
+		// we try to optimize it in several ways.
+
+		// If there is only one layout version, we know that's the one
+		// we need to read from.
+		if self.versions.len() == 1 {
+			return self.current().version;
+		}
+
+		let quorum = replication_mode.write_quorum();
+
+		let min_version = self.min_stored();
+		let global_min = self
+			.update_trackers
+			.sync_map
+			.min_among(all_nongateway_nodes, min_version);
+
+		// If the write quorums are equal to the total number of nodes,
+		// i.e. no writes can succeed while they are not written to all nodes,
+		// then we must in all case wait for all nodes to complete a sync.
+		// This is represented by reading from the layout with version
+		// number global_min, the smallest layout version for which all nodes
+		// have completed a sync.
+		if quorum == self.current().replication_factor {
+			return global_min;
+		}
+
+		// In the general case, we need to look at all write sets for all partitions,
+		// and find a safe layout version to read for that partition. We then
+		// take the minimum value among all partition as the safe layout version
+		// to read in all cases (the layout version to which all reads are directed).
+		let mut current_min = self.current().version;
+		let mut sets_done = HashSet::<Vec<Uuid>>::new();
+
+		for (_, p_hash) in self.current().partitions() {
+			for v in self.versions.iter() {
+				if v.version == self.current().version {
+					// We don't care about whether nodes in the latest layout version
+					// have completed a sync or not, as the sync is push-only
+					// and by definition nodes in the latest layout version do not
+					// hold data that must be pushed to nodes in the latest layout
+					// version, since that's the same version (any data that's
+					// already in the latest version is assumed to have been written
+					// by an operation that ensured a quorum of writes within
+					// that version).
+					continue;
+				}
+
+				// Determine set of nodes for partition p in layout version v.
+				// Sort the node set to avoid duplicate computations.
+				let mut set = v
+					.nodes_of(&p_hash, v.replication_factor)
+					.collect::<Vec<Uuid>>();
+				set.sort();
+
+				// If this set was already processed, skip it.
+				if sets_done.contains(&set) {
+					continue;
+				}
+
+				// Find the value of the sync update trackers that is the
+				// highest possible minimum within a quorum of nodes.
+				let mut sync_values = set
+					.iter()
+					.map(|x| self.update_trackers.sync_map.get(x, min_version))
+					.collect::<Vec<_>>();
+				sync_values.sort();
+				let set_min = sync_values[sync_values.len() - quorum];
+				if set_min < current_min {
+					current_min = set_min;
+				}
+				// defavorable case, we know we are at the smallest possible version,
+				// so we can stop early
+				assert!(current_min >= global_min);
+				if current_min == global_min {
+					return current_min;
+				}
+
+				// Add set to already processed sets
+				sets_done.insert(set);
+			}
+		}
+
+		current_min
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn calculate_trackers_hash(&self) -> Hash {
+		blake2sum(&nonversioned_encode(&self.update_trackers).unwrap()[..])
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn calculate_staging_hash(&self) -> Hash {
+		blake2sum(&nonversioned_encode(&self.staging).unwrap()[..])
+	}
+
+	// ================== updates to layout, public interface ===================
+
+	pub fn merge(&mut self, other: &LayoutHistory) -> bool {
+		let mut changed = false;
+
+		// Add any new versions to history
+		for v2 in other.versions.iter() {
+			if let Some(v1) = self.versions.iter().find(|v| v.version == v2.version) {
+				// Version is already present, check consistency
+				if v1 != v2 {
+					error!("Inconsistent layout histories: different layout compositions for version {}. Your cluster will be broken as long as this layout version is not replaced.", v2.version);
+				}
+			} else if self.versions.iter().all(|v| v.version != v2.version - 1) {
+				error!(
+					"Cannot receive new layout version {}, version {} is missing",
+					v2.version,
+					v2.version - 1
+				);
+			} else {
+				self.versions.push(v2.clone());
+				changed = true;
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Merge trackers
+		let c = self.update_trackers.merge(&other.update_trackers);
+		changed = changed || c;
+
+		// Merge staged layout changes
+		if self.staging != other.staging {
+			let prev_staging = self.staging.clone();
+			self.staging.merge(&other.staging);
+			changed = changed || self.staging != prev_staging;
+		}
+
+		changed
+	}
+
+	pub fn apply_staged_changes(mut self, version: Option<u64>) -> Result<(Self, Message), Error> {
+		match version {
+			None => {
+				let error = r#"
+Please pass the new layout version number to ensure that you are writing the correct version of the cluster layout.
+To know the correct value of the new layout version, invoke `garage layout show` and review the proposed changes.
+				"#;
+				return Err(Error::Message(error.into()));
+			}
+			Some(v) => {
+				if v != self.current().version + 1 {
+					return Err(Error::Message("Invalid new layout version".into()));
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Compute new version and add it to history
+		let (new_version, msg) = self
+			.current()
+			.clone()
+			.calculate_next_version(self.staging.get())?;
+
+		self.versions.push(new_version);
+		self.cleanup_old_versions();
+
+		// Reset the staged layout changes
+		self.staging.update(LayoutStaging {
+			parameters: self.staging.get().parameters.clone(),
+			roles: LwwMap::new(),
+		});
+
+		Ok((self, msg))
+	}
+
+	pub fn revert_staged_changes(mut self) -> Result<Self, Error> {
+		self.staging.update(LayoutStaging {
+			parameters: Lww::new(self.current().parameters),
+			roles: LwwMap::new(),
+		});
+
+		Ok(self)
+	}
+
+	pub fn check(&self) -> Result<(), String> {
+		// TODO: anything more ?
+		self.current().check()
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/rpc/layout/manager.rs b/src/rpc/layout/manager.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6747b79d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rpc/layout/manager.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,378 @@
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::sync::{atomic::Ordering, Arc, Mutex, RwLock, RwLockReadGuard};
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+use tokio::sync::Notify;
+
+use netapp::endpoint::Endpoint;
+use netapp::peering::fullmesh::FullMeshPeeringStrategy;
+use netapp::NodeID;
+
+use garage_util::config::Config;
+use garage_util::data::*;
+use garage_util::error::*;
+use garage_util::persister::Persister;
+
+use super::*;
+use crate::replication_mode::ReplicationMode;
+use crate::rpc_helper::*;
+use crate::system::*;
+
+pub struct LayoutManager {
+	node_id: Uuid,
+	replication_mode: ReplicationMode,
+	persist_cluster_layout: Persister<LayoutHistory>,
+
+	layout: Arc<RwLock<LayoutHelper>>,
+	pub(crate) change_notify: Arc<Notify>,
+
+	table_sync_version: Mutex<HashMap<String, u64>>,
+
+	pub(crate) rpc_helper: RpcHelper,
+	system_endpoint: Arc<Endpoint<SystemRpc, System>>,
+}
+
+impl LayoutManager {
+	pub fn new(
+		config: &Config,
+		node_id: NodeID,
+		system_endpoint: Arc<Endpoint<SystemRpc, System>>,
+		fullmesh: Arc<FullMeshPeeringStrategy>,
+		replication_mode: ReplicationMode,
+	) -> Result<Arc<Self>, Error> {
+		let replication_factor = replication_mode.replication_factor();
+
+		let persist_cluster_layout: Persister<LayoutHistory> =
+			Persister::new(&config.metadata_dir, "cluster_layout");
+
+		let cluster_layout = match persist_cluster_layout.load() {
+			Ok(x) => {
+				if x.current().replication_factor != replication_mode.replication_factor() {
+					return Err(Error::Message(format!(
+						"Prevous cluster layout has replication factor {}, which is different than the one specified in the config file ({}). The previous cluster layout can be purged, if you know what you are doing, simply by deleting the `cluster_layout` file in your metadata directory.",
+						x.current().replication_factor,
+						replication_factor
+					)));
+				}
+				x
+			}
+			Err(e) => {
+				info!(
+					"No valid previous cluster layout stored ({}), starting fresh.",
+					e
+				);
+				LayoutHistory::new(replication_factor)
+			}
+		};
+
+		let mut cluster_layout =
+			LayoutHelper::new(replication_mode, cluster_layout, Default::default());
+		cluster_layout.update_trackers(node_id.into());
+
+		let layout = Arc::new(RwLock::new(cluster_layout));
+		let change_notify = Arc::new(Notify::new());
+
+		let rpc_helper = RpcHelper::new(
+			node_id.into(),
+			fullmesh,
+			layout.clone(),
+			config.rpc_timeout_msec.map(Duration::from_millis),
+		);
+
+		Ok(Arc::new(Self {
+			node_id: node_id.into(),
+			replication_mode,
+			persist_cluster_layout,
+			layout,
+			change_notify,
+			table_sync_version: Mutex::new(HashMap::new()),
+			system_endpoint,
+			rpc_helper,
+		}))
+	}
+
+	// ---- PUBLIC INTERFACE ----
+
+	pub fn layout(&self) -> RwLockReadGuard<'_, LayoutHelper> {
+		self.layout.read().unwrap()
+	}
+
+	pub async fn update_cluster_layout(
+		self: &Arc<Self>,
+		layout: &LayoutHistory,
+	) -> Result<(), Error> {
+		self.handle_advertise_cluster_layout(layout).await?;
+		Ok(())
+	}
+
+	pub fn add_table(&self, table_name: &'static str) {
+		let first_version = self.layout().versions.first().unwrap().version;
+
+		self.table_sync_version
+			.lock()
+			.unwrap()
+			.insert(table_name.to_string(), first_version);
+	}
+
+	pub fn sync_table_until(self: &Arc<Self>, table_name: &'static str, version: u64) {
+		let mut table_sync_version = self.table_sync_version.lock().unwrap();
+		*table_sync_version.get_mut(table_name).unwrap() = version;
+		let sync_until = table_sync_version.iter().map(|(_, v)| *v).min().unwrap();
+		drop(table_sync_version);
+
+		let mut layout = self.layout.write().unwrap();
+		if layout.update(|l| l.update_trackers.sync_map.set_max(self.node_id, sync_until)) {
+			info!("sync_until updated to {}", sync_until);
+			self.broadcast_update(SystemRpc::AdvertiseClusterLayoutTrackers(
+				layout.update_trackers.clone(),
+			));
+		}
+	}
+
+	fn ack_new_version(self: &Arc<Self>) {
+		let mut layout = self.layout.write().unwrap();
+		if layout.ack_max_free(self.node_id) {
+			self.broadcast_update(SystemRpc::AdvertiseClusterLayoutTrackers(
+				layout.update_trackers.clone(),
+			));
+		}
+	}
+
+	// ---- ACK LOCKING ----
+
+	pub fn write_sets_of(self: &Arc<Self>, position: &Hash) -> WriteLock<Vec<Vec<Uuid>>> {
+		let layout = self.layout();
+		let version = layout.current().version;
+		let nodes = layout.storage_sets_of(position);
+		layout
+			.ack_lock
+			.get(&version)
+			.unwrap()
+			.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+		WriteLock::new(version, self, nodes)
+	}
+
+	// ---- INTERNALS ---
+
+	fn merge_layout(&self, adv: &LayoutHistory) -> Option<LayoutHistory> {
+		let mut layout = self.layout.write().unwrap();
+		let prev_digest = layout.digest();
+		let prev_layout_check = layout.check().is_ok();
+
+		if !prev_layout_check || adv.check().is_ok() {
+			if layout.update(|l| l.merge(adv)) {
+				layout.update_trackers(self.node_id);
+				if prev_layout_check && layout.check().is_err() {
+					panic!("Merged two correct layouts and got an incorrect layout.");
+				}
+				assert!(layout.digest() != prev_digest);
+				return Some(layout.clone());
+			}
+		}
+
+		None
+	}
+
+	fn merge_layout_trackers(&self, adv: &UpdateTrackers) -> Option<UpdateTrackers> {
+		let mut layout = self.layout.write().unwrap();
+		let prev_digest = layout.digest();
+
+		if layout.update_trackers != *adv {
+			if layout.update(|l| l.update_trackers.merge(adv)) {
+				layout.update_trackers(self.node_id);
+				assert!(layout.digest() != prev_digest);
+				return Some(layout.update_trackers.clone());
+			}
+		}
+
+		None
+	}
+
+	async fn pull_cluster_layout(self: &Arc<Self>, peer: Uuid) {
+		let resp = self
+			.rpc_helper
+			.call(
+				&self.system_endpoint,
+				peer,
+				SystemRpc::PullClusterLayout,
+				RequestStrategy::with_priority(PRIO_HIGH),
+			)
+			.await;
+		if let Ok(SystemRpc::AdvertiseClusterLayout(layout)) = resp {
+			if let Err(e) = self.handle_advertise_cluster_layout(&layout).await {
+				warn!("In pull_cluster_layout: {}", e);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	async fn pull_cluster_layout_trackers(self: &Arc<Self>, peer: Uuid) {
+		let resp = self
+			.rpc_helper
+			.call(
+				&self.system_endpoint,
+				peer,
+				SystemRpc::PullClusterLayoutTrackers,
+				RequestStrategy::with_priority(PRIO_HIGH),
+			)
+			.await;
+		if let Ok(SystemRpc::AdvertiseClusterLayoutTrackers(trackers)) = resp {
+			if let Err(e) = self
+				.handle_advertise_cluster_layout_trackers(&trackers)
+				.await
+			{
+				warn!("In pull_cluster_layout_trackers: {}", e);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	/// Save cluster layout data to disk
+	async fn save_cluster_layout(&self) -> Result<(), Error> {
+		let layout = self.layout.read().unwrap().clone();
+		self.persist_cluster_layout
+			.save_async(&layout)
+			.await
+			.expect("Cannot save current cluster layout");
+		Ok(())
+	}
+
+	fn broadcast_update(self: &Arc<Self>, rpc: SystemRpc) {
+		tokio::spawn({
+			let this = self.clone();
+			async move {
+				if let Err(e) = this
+					.rpc_helper
+					.broadcast(
+						&this.system_endpoint,
+						rpc,
+						RequestStrategy::with_priority(PRIO_HIGH),
+					)
+					.await
+				{
+					warn!("Error while broadcasting new cluster layout: {}", e);
+				}
+			}
+		});
+	}
+
+	// ---- RPC HANDLERS ----
+
+	pub(crate) fn handle_advertise_status(self: &Arc<Self>, from: Uuid, remote: &RpcLayoutDigest) {
+		let local = self.layout().digest();
+		if remote.current_version > local.current_version
+			|| remote.active_versions != local.active_versions
+			|| remote.staging_hash != local.staging_hash
+		{
+			tokio::spawn({
+				let this = self.clone();
+				async move { this.pull_cluster_layout(from).await }
+			});
+		} else if remote.trackers_hash != local.trackers_hash {
+			tokio::spawn({
+				let this = self.clone();
+				async move { this.pull_cluster_layout_trackers(from).await }
+			});
+		}
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn handle_pull_cluster_layout(&self) -> SystemRpc {
+		let layout = self.layout.read().unwrap().clone();
+		SystemRpc::AdvertiseClusterLayout(layout)
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn handle_pull_cluster_layout_trackers(&self) -> SystemRpc {
+		let layout = self.layout.read().unwrap();
+		SystemRpc::AdvertiseClusterLayoutTrackers(layout.update_trackers.clone())
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) async fn handle_advertise_cluster_layout(
+		self: &Arc<Self>,
+		adv: &LayoutHistory,
+	) -> Result<SystemRpc, Error> {
+		debug!(
+			"handle_advertise_cluster_layout: {} versions, last={}, trackers={:?}",
+			adv.versions.len(),
+			adv.current().version,
+			adv.update_trackers
+		);
+
+		if adv.current().replication_factor != self.replication_mode.replication_factor() {
+			let msg = format!(
+				"Received a cluster layout from another node with replication factor {}, which is different from what we have in our configuration ({}). Discarding the cluster layout we received.",
+				adv.current().replication_factor,
+				self.replication_mode.replication_factor()
+			);
+			error!("{}", msg);
+			return Err(Error::Message(msg));
+		}
+
+		if let Some(new_layout) = self.merge_layout(adv) {
+			debug!("handle_advertise_cluster_layout: some changes were added to the current stuff");
+
+			self.change_notify.notify_waiters();
+			self.broadcast_update(SystemRpc::AdvertiseClusterLayout(new_layout));
+			self.save_cluster_layout().await?;
+		}
+
+		Ok(SystemRpc::Ok)
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) async fn handle_advertise_cluster_layout_trackers(
+		self: &Arc<Self>,
+		trackers: &UpdateTrackers,
+	) -> Result<SystemRpc, Error> {
+		debug!("handle_advertise_cluster_layout_trackers: {:?}", trackers);
+
+		if let Some(new_trackers) = self.merge_layout_trackers(trackers) {
+			self.change_notify.notify_waiters();
+			self.broadcast_update(SystemRpc::AdvertiseClusterLayoutTrackers(new_trackers));
+			self.save_cluster_layout().await?;
+		}
+
+		Ok(SystemRpc::Ok)
+	}
+}
+
+// ---- ack lock ----
+
+pub struct WriteLock<T> {
+	layout_version: u64,
+	layout_manager: Arc<LayoutManager>,
+	value: T,
+}
+
+impl<T> WriteLock<T> {
+	fn new(version: u64, layout_manager: &Arc<LayoutManager>, value: T) -> Self {
+		Self {
+			layout_version: version,
+			layout_manager: layout_manager.clone(),
+			value,
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+impl<T> AsRef<T> for WriteLock<T> {
+	fn as_ref(&self) -> &T {
+		&self.value
+	}
+}
+
+impl<T> AsMut<T> for WriteLock<T> {
+	fn as_mut(&mut self) -> &mut T {
+		&mut self.value
+	}
+}
+
+impl<T> Drop for WriteLock<T> {
+	fn drop(&mut self) {
+		let layout = self.layout_manager.layout(); // acquire read lock
+		if let Some(counter) = layout.ack_lock.get(&self.layout_version) {
+			let prev_lock = counter.fetch_sub(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+			if prev_lock == 1 && layout.current().version > self.layout_version {
+				drop(layout); // release read lock, write lock will be acquired
+				self.layout_manager.ack_new_version();
+			}
+		} else {
+			error!("Could not find ack lock counter for layout version {}. This probably indicates a bug in Garage.", self.layout_version);
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/rpc/layout/mod.rs b/src/rpc/layout/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..33676c37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rpc/layout/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,478 @@
+use std::fmt;
+
+use bytesize::ByteSize;
+
+use garage_util::crdt::{AutoCrdt, Crdt};
+use garage_util::data::Uuid;
+
+mod graph_algo;
+mod helper;
+mod history;
+mod version;
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod test;
+
+pub mod manager;
+
+// ---- re-exports ----
+
+pub use helper::{LayoutHelper, RpcLayoutDigest, SyncLayoutDigest};
+pub use manager::WriteLock;
+pub use version::*;
+
+// ---- defines: partitions ----
+
+/// A partition id, which is stored on 16 bits
+/// i.e. we have up to 2**16 partitions.
+/// (in practice we have exactly 2**PARTITION_BITS partitions)
+pub type Partition = u16;
+
+// TODO: make this constant parametrizable in the config file
+// For deployments with many nodes it might make sense to bump
+// it up to 10.
+// Maximum value : 16
+/// How many bits from the hash are used to make partitions. Higher numbers means more fairness in
+/// presence of numerous nodes, but exponentially bigger ring. Max 16
+pub const PARTITION_BITS: usize = 8;
+
+const NB_PARTITIONS: usize = 1usize << PARTITION_BITS;
+
+// ---- defines: nodes ----
+
+// Type to store compactly the id of a node in the system
+// Change this to u16 the day we want to have more than 256 nodes in a cluster
+pub type CompactNodeType = u8;
+pub const MAX_NODE_NUMBER: usize = 256;
+
+// ======== actual data structures for the layout data ========
+// ======== that is persisted to disk                  ========
+// some small utility impls are at the end of this file,
+// but most of the code that actually computes stuff is in
+// version.rs, history.rs and helper.rs
+
+mod v08 {
+	use crate::layout::CompactNodeType;
+	use garage_util::crdt::LwwMap;
+	use garage_util::data::{Hash, Uuid};
+	use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+	/// The layout of the cluster, i.e. the list of roles
+	/// which are assigned to each cluster node
+	#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+	pub struct ClusterLayout {
+		pub version: u64,
+
+		pub replication_factor: usize,
+		pub roles: LwwMap<Uuid, NodeRoleV>,
+
+		// see comments in v010::ClusterLayout
+		pub node_id_vec: Vec<Uuid>,
+		#[serde(with = "serde_bytes")]
+		pub ring_assignation_data: Vec<CompactNodeType>,
+
+		/// Role changes which are staged for the next version of the layout
+		pub staging: LwwMap<Uuid, NodeRoleV>,
+		pub staging_hash: Hash,
+	}
+
+	#[derive(PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord, Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+	pub struct NodeRoleV(pub Option<NodeRole>);
+
+	/// The user-assigned roles of cluster nodes
+	#[derive(PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord, Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+	pub struct NodeRole {
+		/// Datacenter at which this entry belong. This information is used to
+		/// perform a better geodistribution
+		pub zone: String,
+		/// The capacity of the node
+		/// If this is set to None, the node does not participate in storing data for the system
+		/// and is only active as an API gateway to other nodes
+		pub capacity: Option<u64>,
+		/// A set of tags to recognize the node
+		pub tags: Vec<String>,
+	}
+
+	impl garage_util::migrate::InitialFormat for ClusterLayout {}
+}
+
+mod v09 {
+	use super::v08;
+	use crate::layout::CompactNodeType;
+	use garage_util::crdt::{Lww, LwwMap};
+	use garage_util::data::{Hash, Uuid};
+	use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+	pub use v08::{NodeRole, NodeRoleV};
+
+	/// The layout of the cluster, i.e. the list of roles
+	/// which are assigned to each cluster node
+	#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+	pub struct ClusterLayout {
+		pub version: u64,
+
+		pub replication_factor: usize,
+
+		/// This attribute is only used to retain the previously computed partition size,
+		/// to know to what extent does it change with the layout update.
+		pub partition_size: u64,
+		/// Parameters used to compute the assignment currently given by
+		/// ring_assignment_data
+		pub parameters: LayoutParameters,
+
+		pub roles: LwwMap<Uuid, NodeRoleV>,
+
+		// see comments in v010::ClusterLayout
+		pub node_id_vec: Vec<Uuid>,
+		#[serde(with = "serde_bytes")]
+		pub ring_assignment_data: Vec<CompactNodeType>,
+
+		/// Parameters to be used in the next partition assignment computation.
+		pub staging_parameters: Lww<LayoutParameters>,
+		/// Role changes which are staged for the next version of the layout
+		pub staging_roles: LwwMap<Uuid, NodeRoleV>,
+		pub staging_hash: Hash,
+	}
+
+	/// This struct is used to set the parameters to be used in the assignment computation
+	/// algorithm. It is stored as a Crdt.
+	#[derive(PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord, Clone, Copy, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+	pub struct LayoutParameters {
+		pub zone_redundancy: ZoneRedundancy,
+	}
+
+	/// Zone redundancy: if set to AtLeast(x), the layout calculation will aim to store copies
+	/// of each partition on at least that number of different zones.
+	/// Otherwise, copies will be stored on the maximum possible number of zones.
+	#[derive(PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord, Clone, Copy, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+	pub enum ZoneRedundancy {
+		AtLeast(usize),
+		Maximum,
+	}
+
+	impl garage_util::migrate::Migrate for ClusterLayout {
+		const VERSION_MARKER: &'static [u8] = b"G09layout";
+
+		type Previous = v08::ClusterLayout;
+
+		fn migrate(previous: Self::Previous) -> Self {
+			use itertools::Itertools;
+
+			// In the old layout, capacities are in an arbitrary unit,
+			// but in the new layout they are in bytes.
+			// Here we arbitrarily multiply everything by 1G,
+			// such that 1 old capacity unit = 1GB in the new units.
+			// This is totally arbitrary and won't work for most users.
+			let cap_mul = 1024 * 1024 * 1024;
+			let roles = multiply_all_capacities(previous.roles, cap_mul);
+			let staging_roles = multiply_all_capacities(previous.staging, cap_mul);
+			let node_id_vec = previous.node_id_vec;
+
+			// Determine partition size
+			let mut tmp = previous.ring_assignation_data.clone();
+			tmp.sort();
+			let partition_size = tmp
+				.into_iter()
+				.dedup_with_count()
+				.map(|(npart, node)| {
+					roles
+						.get(&node_id_vec[node as usize])
+						.and_then(|p| p.0.as_ref().and_then(|r| r.capacity))
+						.unwrap_or(0) / npart as u64
+				})
+				.min()
+				.unwrap_or(0);
+
+			// By default, zone_redundancy is maximum possible value
+			let parameters = LayoutParameters {
+				zone_redundancy: ZoneRedundancy::Maximum,
+			};
+
+			Self {
+				version: previous.version,
+				replication_factor: previous.replication_factor,
+				partition_size,
+				parameters,
+				roles,
+				node_id_vec,
+				ring_assignment_data: previous.ring_assignation_data,
+				staging_parameters: Lww::new(parameters),
+				staging_roles,
+				staging_hash: [0u8; 32].into(), // will be set in the next migration
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	fn multiply_all_capacities(
+		old_roles: LwwMap<Uuid, NodeRoleV>,
+		mul: u64,
+	) -> LwwMap<Uuid, NodeRoleV> {
+		let mut new_roles = LwwMap::new();
+		for (node, ts, role) in old_roles.items() {
+			let mut role = role.clone();
+			if let NodeRoleV(Some(NodeRole {
+				capacity: Some(ref mut cap),
+				..
+			})) = role
+			{
+				*cap *= mul;
+			}
+			new_roles.merge_raw(node, *ts, &role);
+		}
+		new_roles
+	}
+}
+
+mod v010 {
+	use super::v09;
+	use crate::layout::CompactNodeType;
+	use garage_util::crdt::{Lww, LwwMap};
+	use garage_util::data::Uuid;
+	use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+	use std::collections::BTreeMap;
+	pub use v09::{LayoutParameters, NodeRole, NodeRoleV, ZoneRedundancy};
+
+	/// Number of old (non-live) versions to keep, see LayoutHistory::old_versions
+	pub const OLD_VERSION_COUNT: usize = 5;
+
+	/// The history of cluster layouts, with trackers to keep a record
+	/// of which nodes are up-to-date to current cluster data
+	#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq)]
+	pub struct LayoutHistory {
+		/// The versions currently in use in the cluster
+		pub versions: Vec<LayoutVersion>,
+		/// At most 5 of the previous versions, not used by the garage_table
+		/// module, but usefull for the garage_block module to find data blocks
+		/// that have not yet been moved
+		pub old_versions: Vec<LayoutVersion>,
+
+		/// Update trackers
+		pub update_trackers: UpdateTrackers,
+
+		/// Staged changes for the next version
+		pub staging: Lww<LayoutStaging>,
+	}
+
+	/// A version of the layout of the cluster, i.e. the list of roles
+	/// which are assigned to each cluster node
+	#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq)]
+	pub struct LayoutVersion {
+		/// The number of this version
+		pub version: u64,
+
+		/// Roles assigned to nodes in this version
+		pub roles: LwwMap<Uuid, NodeRoleV>,
+		/// Parameters used to compute the assignment currently given by
+		/// ring_assignment_data
+		pub parameters: LayoutParameters,
+
+		/// The number of replicas for each data partition
+		pub replication_factor: usize,
+		/// This attribute is only used to retain the previously computed partition size,
+		/// to know to what extent does it change with the layout update.
+		pub partition_size: u64,
+
+		/// node_id_vec: a vector of node IDs with a role assigned
+		/// in the system (this includes gateway nodes).
+		/// The order here is different than the vec stored by `roles`, because:
+		/// 1. non-gateway nodes are first so that they have lower numbers
+		/// 2. nodes that don't have a role are excluded (but they need to
+		///    stay in the CRDT as tombstones)
+		pub node_id_vec: Vec<Uuid>,
+		/// number of non-gateway nodes, which are the first ids in node_id_vec
+		pub nongateway_node_count: usize,
+		/// The assignation of data partitions to nodes, the values
+		/// are indices in node_id_vec
+		#[serde(with = "serde_bytes")]
+		pub ring_assignment_data: Vec<CompactNodeType>,
+	}
+
+	/// The staged changes for the next layout version
+	#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq)]
+	pub struct LayoutStaging {
+		/// Parameters to be used in the next partition assignment computation.
+		pub parameters: Lww<LayoutParameters>,
+		/// Role changes which are staged for the next version of the layout
+		pub roles: LwwMap<Uuid, NodeRoleV>,
+	}
+
+	/// The tracker of acknowlegments and data syncs around the cluster
+	#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, Default, PartialEq)]
+	pub struct UpdateTrackers {
+		/// The highest layout version number each node has ack'ed
+		pub ack_map: UpdateTracker,
+		/// The highest layout version number each node has synced data for
+		pub sync_map: UpdateTracker,
+		/// The highest layout version number each node has
+		/// ack'ed that all other nodes have synced data for
+		pub sync_ack_map: UpdateTracker,
+	}
+
+	/// Generic update tracker struct
+	#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, Default, PartialEq)]
+	pub struct UpdateTracker(pub BTreeMap<Uuid, u64>);
+
+	impl garage_util::migrate::Migrate for LayoutHistory {
+		const VERSION_MARKER: &'static [u8] = b"G010lh";
+
+		type Previous = v09::ClusterLayout;
+
+		fn migrate(previous: Self::Previous) -> Self {
+			let nongateway_node_count = previous
+				.node_id_vec
+				.iter()
+				.enumerate()
+				.filter(|(_, uuid)| {
+					let role = previous.roles.get(uuid);
+					matches!(role, Some(NodeRoleV(Some(role))) if role.capacity.is_some())
+				})
+				.map(|(i, _)| i + 1)
+				.max()
+				.unwrap_or(0);
+
+			let version = LayoutVersion {
+				version: previous.version,
+				replication_factor: previous.replication_factor,
+				partition_size: previous.partition_size,
+				parameters: previous.parameters,
+				roles: previous.roles,
+				node_id_vec: previous.node_id_vec,
+				nongateway_node_count,
+				ring_assignment_data: previous.ring_assignment_data,
+			};
+			let update_tracker = UpdateTracker(
+				version
+					.nongateway_nodes()
+					.iter()
+					.copied()
+					.map(|x| (x, version.version))
+					.collect::<BTreeMap<Uuid, u64>>(),
+			);
+			let staging = LayoutStaging {
+				parameters: previous.staging_parameters,
+				roles: previous.staging_roles,
+			};
+			Self {
+				versions: vec![version],
+				old_versions: vec![],
+				update_trackers: UpdateTrackers {
+					ack_map: update_tracker.clone(),
+					sync_map: update_tracker.clone(),
+					sync_ack_map: update_tracker,
+				},
+				staging: Lww::raw(previous.version, staging),
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+pub use v010::*;
+
+// ---- utility functions ----
+
+impl AutoCrdt for LayoutParameters {
+	const WARN_IF_DIFFERENT: bool = true;
+}
+
+impl AutoCrdt for NodeRoleV {
+	const WARN_IF_DIFFERENT: bool = true;
+}
+
+impl Crdt for LayoutStaging {
+	fn merge(&mut self, other: &LayoutStaging) {
+		self.parameters.merge(&other.parameters);
+		self.roles.merge(&other.roles);
+	}
+}
+
+impl NodeRole {
+	pub fn capacity_string(&self) -> String {
+		match self.capacity {
+			Some(c) => ByteSize::b(c).to_string_as(false),
+			None => "gateway".to_string(),
+		}
+	}
+
+	pub fn tags_string(&self) -> String {
+		self.tags.join(",")
+	}
+}
+
+impl fmt::Display for ZoneRedundancy {
+	fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+		match self {
+			ZoneRedundancy::Maximum => write!(f, "maximum"),
+			ZoneRedundancy::AtLeast(x) => write!(f, "{}", x),
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+impl core::str::FromStr for ZoneRedundancy {
+	type Err = &'static str;
+	fn from_str(s: &str) -> Result<Self, Self::Err> {
+		match s {
+			"none" | "max" | "maximum" => Ok(ZoneRedundancy::Maximum),
+			x => {
+				let v = x
+					.parse::<usize>()
+					.map_err(|_| "zone redundancy must be 'none'/'max' or an integer")?;
+				Ok(ZoneRedundancy::AtLeast(v))
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+impl UpdateTracker {
+	fn merge(&mut self, other: &UpdateTracker) -> bool {
+		let mut changed = false;
+		for (k, v) in other.0.iter() {
+			if let Some(v_mut) = self.0.get_mut(k) {
+				if *v > *v_mut {
+					*v_mut = *v;
+					changed = true;
+				}
+			} else {
+				self.0.insert(*k, *v);
+				changed = true;
+			}
+		}
+		changed
+	}
+
+	/// This bumps the update tracker for a given node up to the specified value.
+	/// This has potential impacts on the correctness of Garage and should only
+	/// be used in very specific circumstances.
+	pub fn set_max(&mut self, peer: Uuid, value: u64) -> bool {
+		match self.0.get_mut(&peer) {
+			Some(e) if *e < value => {
+				*e = value;
+				true
+			}
+			None => {
+				self.0.insert(peer, value);
+				true
+			}
+			_ => false,
+		}
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn min_among(&self, storage_nodes: &[Uuid], min_version: u64) -> u64 {
+		storage_nodes
+			.iter()
+			.map(|x| self.get(x, min_version))
+			.min()
+			.unwrap_or(min_version)
+	}
+
+	pub fn get(&self, node: &Uuid, min_version: u64) -> u64 {
+		self.0.get(node).copied().unwrap_or(min_version)
+	}
+}
+
+impl UpdateTrackers {
+	pub(crate) fn merge(&mut self, other: &UpdateTrackers) -> bool {
+		let c1 = self.ack_map.merge(&other.ack_map);
+		let c2 = self.sync_map.merge(&other.sync_map);
+		let c3 = self.sync_ack_map.merge(&other.sync_ack_map);
+		c1 || c2 || c3
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/rpc/layout/test.rs b/src/rpc/layout/test.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..88eb518e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rpc/layout/test.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+use std::cmp::min;
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+
+use garage_util::crdt::Crdt;
+use garage_util::error::*;
+
+use crate::layout::*;
+
+// This function checks that the partition size S computed is at least better than the
+// one given by a very naive algorithm. To do so, we try to run the naive algorithm
+// assuming a partion size of S+1. If we succed, it means that the optimal assignment
+// was not optimal. The naive algorithm is the following :
+// - we compute the max number of partitions associated to every node, capped at the
+// partition number. It gives the number of tokens of every node.
+// - every zone has a number of tokens equal to the sum of the tokens of its nodes.
+// - we cycle over the partitions and associate zone tokens while respecting the
+// zone redundancy constraint.
+// NOTE: the naive algorithm is not optimal. Counter example:
+// take nb_partition = 3  ; replication_factor = 5; redundancy = 4;
+// number of tokens by zone : (A, 4), (B,1), (C,4), (D, 4), (E, 2)
+// With these parameters, the naive algo fails, whereas there is a solution:
+// (A,A,C,D,E) , (A,B,C,D,D) (A,C,C,D,E)
+fn check_against_naive(cl: &LayoutVersion) -> Result<bool, Error> {
+	let over_size = cl.partition_size + 1;
+	let mut zone_token = HashMap::<String, usize>::new();
+
+	let (zones, zone_to_id) = cl.generate_nongateway_zone_ids()?;
+
+	if zones.is_empty() {
+		return Ok(false);
+	}
+
+	for z in zones.iter() {
+		zone_token.insert(z.clone(), 0);
+	}
+	for uuid in cl.nongateway_nodes() {
+		let z = cl.expect_get_node_zone(&uuid);
+		let c = cl.expect_get_node_capacity(&uuid);
+		zone_token.insert(
+			z.to_string(),
+			zone_token[z] + min(NB_PARTITIONS, (c / over_size) as usize),
+		);
+	}
+
+	// For every partition, we count the number of zone already associated and
+	// the name of the last zone associated
+
+	let mut id_zone_token = vec![0; zones.len()];
+	for (z, t) in zone_token.iter() {
+		id_zone_token[zone_to_id[z]] = *t;
+	}
+
+	let mut nb_token = vec![0; NB_PARTITIONS];
+	let mut last_zone = vec![zones.len(); NB_PARTITIONS];
+
+	let mut curr_zone = 0;
+
+	let redundancy = cl.effective_zone_redundancy();
+
+	for replic in 0..cl.replication_factor {
+		for p in 0..NB_PARTITIONS {
+			while id_zone_token[curr_zone] == 0
+				|| (last_zone[p] == curr_zone
+					&& redundancy - nb_token[p] <= cl.replication_factor - replic)
+			{
+				curr_zone += 1;
+				if curr_zone >= zones.len() {
+					return Ok(true);
+				}
+			}
+			id_zone_token[curr_zone] -= 1;
+			if last_zone[p] != curr_zone {
+				nb_token[p] += 1;
+				last_zone[p] = curr_zone;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return Ok(false);
+}
+
+fn show_msg(msg: &Message) {
+	for s in msg.iter() {
+		println!("{}", s);
+	}
+}
+
+fn update_layout(
+	cl: &mut LayoutHistory,
+	node_capacity_vec: &[u64],
+	node_zone_vec: &[&'static str],
+	zone_redundancy: usize,
+) {
+	let staging = cl.staging.get_mut();
+
+	for (i, (capacity, zone)) in node_capacity_vec
+		.iter()
+		.zip(node_zone_vec.iter())
+		.enumerate()
+	{
+		let node_id = [i as u8; 32].into();
+
+		let update = staging.roles.update_mutator(
+			node_id,
+			NodeRoleV(Some(NodeRole {
+				zone: zone.to_string(),
+				capacity: Some(*capacity),
+				tags: (vec![]),
+			})),
+		);
+		staging.roles.merge(&update);
+	}
+	staging.parameters.update(LayoutParameters {
+		zone_redundancy: ZoneRedundancy::AtLeast(zone_redundancy),
+	});
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_assignment() {
+	let mut node_capacity_vec = vec![4000, 1000, 2000];
+	let mut node_zone_vec = vec!["A", "B", "C"];
+
+	let mut cl = LayoutHistory::new(3);
+	update_layout(&mut cl, &node_capacity_vec, &node_zone_vec, 3);
+	let v = cl.current().version;
+	let (mut cl, msg) = cl.apply_staged_changes(Some(v + 1)).unwrap();
+	show_msg(&msg);
+	assert_eq!(cl.check(), Ok(()));
+	assert!(check_against_naive(cl.current()).unwrap());
+
+	node_capacity_vec = vec![4000, 1000, 1000, 3000, 1000, 1000, 2000, 10000, 2000];
+	node_zone_vec = vec!["A", "B", "C", "C", "C", "B", "G", "H", "I"];
+	update_layout(&mut cl, &node_capacity_vec, &node_zone_vec, 2);
+	let v = cl.current().version;
+	let (mut cl, msg) = cl.apply_staged_changes(Some(v + 1)).unwrap();
+	show_msg(&msg);
+	assert_eq!(cl.check(), Ok(()));
+	assert!(check_against_naive(cl.current()).unwrap());
+
+	node_capacity_vec = vec![4000, 1000, 2000, 7000, 1000, 1000, 2000, 10000, 2000];
+	update_layout(&mut cl, &node_capacity_vec, &node_zone_vec, 3);
+	let v = cl.current().version;
+	let (mut cl, msg) = cl.apply_staged_changes(Some(v + 1)).unwrap();
+	show_msg(&msg);
+	assert_eq!(cl.check(), Ok(()));
+	assert!(check_against_naive(cl.current()).unwrap());
+
+	node_capacity_vec = vec![
+		4000000, 4000000, 2000000, 7000000, 1000000, 9000000, 2000000, 10000, 2000000,
+	];
+	update_layout(&mut cl, &node_capacity_vec, &node_zone_vec, 1);
+	let v = cl.current().version;
+	let (cl, msg) = cl.apply_staged_changes(Some(v + 1)).unwrap();
+	show_msg(&msg);
+	assert_eq!(cl.check(), Ok(()));
+	assert!(check_against_naive(cl.current()).unwrap());
+}
diff --git a/src/rpc/layout/version.rs b/src/rpc/layout/version.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ee4b2821
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rpc/layout/version.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,846 @@
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::collections::HashSet;
+use std::convert::TryInto;
+
+use bytesize::ByteSize;
+use itertools::Itertools;
+
+use garage_util::crdt::{Crdt, LwwMap};
+use garage_util::data::*;
+use garage_util::error::*;
+
+use super::graph_algo::*;
+use super::*;
+
+// The Message type will be used to collect information on the algorithm.
+pub type Message = Vec<String>;
+
+impl LayoutVersion {
+	pub fn new(replication_factor: usize) -> Self {
+		// We set the default zone redundancy to be Maximum, meaning that the maximum
+		// possible value will be used depending on the cluster topology
+		let parameters = LayoutParameters {
+			zone_redundancy: ZoneRedundancy::Maximum,
+		};
+
+		LayoutVersion {
+			version: 0,
+			replication_factor,
+			partition_size: 0,
+			roles: LwwMap::new(),
+			node_id_vec: Vec::new(),
+			nongateway_node_count: 0,
+			ring_assignment_data: Vec::new(),
+			parameters,
+		}
+	}
+
+	// ===================== accessors ======================
+
+	/// Returns a list of IDs of nodes that have a role in this
+	/// version of the cluster layout, including gateway nodes
+	pub fn all_nodes(&self) -> &[Uuid] {
+		&self.node_id_vec[..]
+	}
+
+	/// Returns a list of IDs of nodes that have a storage capacity
+	/// assigned in this version of the cluster layout
+	pub fn nongateway_nodes(&self) -> &[Uuid] {
+		&self.node_id_vec[..self.nongateway_node_count]
+	}
+
+	/// Returns the role of a node in the layout, if it has one
+	pub fn node_role(&self, node: &Uuid) -> Option<&NodeRole> {
+		match self.roles.get(node) {
+			Some(NodeRoleV(Some(v))) => Some(v),
+			_ => None,
+		}
+	}
+
+	/// Returns the capacity of a node in the layout, if it has one
+	pub fn get_node_capacity(&self, uuid: &Uuid) -> Option<u64> {
+		match self.node_role(uuid) {
+			Some(NodeRole {
+				capacity: Some(cap),
+				zone: _,
+				tags: _,
+			}) => Some(*cap),
+			_ => None,
+		}
+	}
+
+	/// Given a node uuids, this function returns the label of its zone if it has one
+	pub fn get_node_zone(&self, uuid: &Uuid) -> Option<&str> {
+		match self.node_role(uuid) {
+			Some(role) => Some(&role.zone),
+			_ => None,
+		}
+	}
+
+	/// Returns the number of partitions associated to this node in the ring
+	pub fn get_node_usage(&self, uuid: &Uuid) -> Result<usize, Error> {
+		for (i, id) in self.node_id_vec.iter().enumerate() {
+			if id == uuid {
+				let mut count = 0;
+				for nod in self.ring_assignment_data.iter() {
+					if i as u8 == *nod {
+						count += 1
+					}
+				}
+				return Ok(count);
+			}
+		}
+		Err(Error::Message(
+			"The Uuid does not correspond to a node present in the \
+                    cluster or this node does not have a positive capacity."
+				.into(),
+		))
+	}
+
+	/// Get the partition in which data would fall on
+	pub fn partition_of(&self, position: &Hash) -> Partition {
+		let top = u16::from_be_bytes(position.as_slice()[0..2].try_into().unwrap());
+		top >> (16 - PARTITION_BITS)
+	}
+
+	/// Get the list of partitions and the first hash of a partition key that would fall in it
+	pub fn partitions(&self) -> impl Iterator<Item = (Partition, Hash)> + '_ {
+		(0..(1 << PARTITION_BITS)).map(|i| {
+			let top = (i as u16) << (16 - PARTITION_BITS);
+			let mut location = [0u8; 32];
+			location[..2].copy_from_slice(&u16::to_be_bytes(top)[..]);
+			(i as u16, Hash::from(location))
+		})
+	}
+
+	/// Return the n servers in which data for this hash should be replicated
+	pub fn nodes_of(&self, position: &Hash, n: usize) -> impl Iterator<Item = Uuid> + '_ {
+		assert_eq!(n, self.replication_factor);
+
+		let data = &self.ring_assignment_data;
+
+		let partition_nodes = if data.len() == self.replication_factor * (1 << PARTITION_BITS) {
+			let partition_idx = self.partition_of(position) as usize;
+			let partition_start = partition_idx * self.replication_factor;
+			let partition_end = (partition_idx + 1) * self.replication_factor;
+			&data[partition_start..partition_end]
+		} else {
+			warn!("Ring not yet ready, read/writes will be lost!");
+			&[]
+		};
+
+		partition_nodes
+			.iter()
+			.map(move |i| self.node_id_vec[*i as usize])
+	}
+
+	// ===================== internal information extractors ======================
+
+	pub(crate) fn expect_get_node_capacity(&self, uuid: &Uuid) -> u64 {
+		self.get_node_capacity(uuid)
+			.expect("non-gateway node with zero capacity")
+	}
+
+	pub(crate) fn expect_get_node_zone(&self, uuid: &Uuid) -> &str {
+		self.get_node_zone(uuid).expect("node without a zone")
+	}
+
+	/// Returns the sum of capacities of non gateway nodes in the cluster
+	fn get_total_capacity(&self) -> u64 {
+		let mut total_capacity = 0;
+		for uuid in self.nongateway_nodes() {
+			total_capacity += self.expect_get_node_capacity(uuid);
+		}
+		total_capacity
+	}
+
+	/// Returns the effective value of the zone_redundancy parameter
+	pub(crate) fn effective_zone_redundancy(&self) -> usize {
+		match self.parameters.zone_redundancy {
+			ZoneRedundancy::AtLeast(v) => v,
+			ZoneRedundancy::Maximum => {
+				let n_zones = self
+					.roles
+					.items()
+					.iter()
+					.filter_map(|(_, _, role)| role.0.as_ref().map(|x| x.zone.as_str()))
+					.collect::<HashSet<&str>>()
+					.len();
+				std::cmp::min(n_zones, self.replication_factor)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	/// Check a cluster layout for internal consistency
+	/// (assignment, roles, parameters, partition size)
+	/// returns true if consistent, false if error
+	pub fn check(&self) -> Result<(), String> {
+		// Check that the assignment data has the correct length
+		let expected_assignment_data_len = (1 << PARTITION_BITS) * self.replication_factor;
+		if self.ring_assignment_data.len() != expected_assignment_data_len {
+			return Err(format!(
+				"ring_assignment_data has incorrect length {} instead of {}",
+				self.ring_assignment_data.len(),
+				expected_assignment_data_len
+			));
+		}
+
+		// Check that node_id_vec contains the correct list of nodes
+		let mut expected_nodes = self
+			.roles
+			.items()
+			.iter()
+			.filter(|(_, _, v)| v.0.is_some())
+			.map(|(id, _, _)| *id)
+			.collect::<Vec<_>>();
+		expected_nodes.sort();
+		let mut node_id_vec = self.node_id_vec.clone();
+		node_id_vec.sort();
+		if expected_nodes != node_id_vec {
+			return Err(format!("node_id_vec does not contain the correct set of nodes\nnode_id_vec: {:?}\nexpected: {:?}", node_id_vec, expected_nodes));
+		}
+
+		// Check that the assigned nodes are correct identifiers
+		// of nodes that are assigned a role
+		// and that role is not the role of a gateway nodes
+		for x in self.ring_assignment_data.iter() {
+			if *x as usize >= self.node_id_vec.len() {
+				return Err(format!(
+					"ring_assignment_data contains invalid node id {}",
+					*x
+				));
+			}
+			let node = self.node_id_vec[*x as usize];
+			match self.roles.get(&node) {
+				Some(NodeRoleV(Some(x))) if x.capacity.is_some() => (),
+				_ => return Err("ring_assignment_data contains id of a gateway node".into()),
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Check that every partition is associated to distinct nodes
+		let zone_redundancy = self.effective_zone_redundancy();
+		let rf = self.replication_factor;
+		for p in 0..(1 << PARTITION_BITS) {
+			let nodes_of_p = self.ring_assignment_data[rf * p..rf * (p + 1)].to_vec();
+			if nodes_of_p.iter().unique().count() != rf {
+				return Err(format!("partition does not contain {} unique node ids", rf));
+			}
+			// Check that every partition is spread over at least zone_redundancy zones.
+			let zones_of_p = nodes_of_p
+				.iter()
+				.map(|n| self.expect_get_node_zone(&self.node_id_vec[*n as usize]))
+				.collect::<Vec<_>>();
+			if zones_of_p.iter().unique().count() < zone_redundancy {
+				return Err(format!(
+					"nodes of partition are in less than {} distinct zones",
+					zone_redundancy
+				));
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Check that the nodes capacities is consistent with the stored partitions
+		let mut node_usage = vec![0; MAX_NODE_NUMBER];
+		for n in self.ring_assignment_data.iter() {
+			node_usage[*n as usize] += 1;
+		}
+		for (n, usage) in node_usage.iter().enumerate() {
+			if *usage > 0 {
+				let uuid = self.node_id_vec[n];
+				let partusage = usage * self.partition_size;
+				let nodecap = self.expect_get_node_capacity(&uuid);
+				if partusage > nodecap {
+					return Err(format!(
+						"node usage ({}) is bigger than node capacity ({})",
+						usage * self.partition_size,
+						nodecap
+					));
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Check that the partition size stored is the one computed by the asignation
+		// algorithm.
+		let cl2 = self.clone();
+		let (_, zone_to_id) = cl2.generate_nongateway_zone_ids().unwrap();
+		match cl2.compute_optimal_partition_size(&zone_to_id, zone_redundancy) {
+			Ok(s) if s != self.partition_size => {
+				return Err(format!(
+					"partition_size ({}) is different than optimal value ({})",
+					self.partition_size, s
+				))
+			}
+			Err(e) => return Err(format!("could not calculate optimal partition size: {}", e)),
+			_ => (),
+		}
+
+		Ok(())
+	}
+
+	// ================== updates to layout, internals ===================
+
+	pub(crate) fn calculate_next_version(
+		mut self,
+		staging: &LayoutStaging,
+	) -> Result<(Self, Message), Error> {
+		self.version += 1;
+
+		self.roles.merge(&staging.roles);
+		self.roles.retain(|(_, _, v)| v.0.is_some());
+		self.parameters = *staging.parameters.get();
+
+		let msg = self.calculate_partition_assignment()?;
+
+		Ok((self, msg))
+	}
+
+	/// This function calculates a new partition-to-node assignment.
+	/// The computed assignment respects the node replication factor
+	/// and the zone redundancy parameter It maximizes the capacity of a
+	/// partition (assuming all partitions have the same size).
+	/// Among such optimal assignment, it minimizes the distance to
+	/// the former assignment (if any) to minimize the amount of
+	/// data to be moved.
+	/// Staged role changes must be merged with nodes roles before calling this function,
+	/// hence it must only be called from apply_staged_changes() and hence is not public.
+	fn calculate_partition_assignment(&mut self) -> Result<Message, Error> {
+		// We update the node ids, since the node role list might have changed with the
+		// changes in the layout. We retrieve the old_assignment reframed with new ids
+		let old_assignment_opt = self.update_node_id_vec()?;
+
+		let zone_redundancy = self.effective_zone_redundancy();
+
+		let mut msg = Message::new();
+		msg.push("==== COMPUTATION OF A NEW PARTITION ASSIGNATION ====".into());
+		msg.push("".into());
+		msg.push(format!(
+			"Partitions are \
+        replicated {} times on at least {} distinct zones.",
+			self.replication_factor, zone_redundancy
+		));
+
+		// We generate for once numerical ids for the zones of non gateway nodes,
+		// to use them as indices in the flow graphs.
+		let (id_to_zone, zone_to_id) = self.generate_nongateway_zone_ids()?;
+
+		if self.nongateway_nodes().len() < self.replication_factor {
+			return Err(Error::Message(format!(
+				"The number of nodes with positive \
+            capacity ({}) is smaller than the replication factor ({}).",
+				self.nongateway_nodes().len(),
+				self.replication_factor
+			)));
+		}
+		if id_to_zone.len() < zone_redundancy {
+			return Err(Error::Message(format!(
+				"The number of zones with non-gateway \
+            nodes ({}) is smaller than the redundancy parameter ({})",
+				id_to_zone.len(),
+				zone_redundancy
+			)));
+		}
+
+		// We compute the optimal partition size
+		// Capacities should be given in a unit so that partition size is at least 100.
+		// In this case, integer rounding plays a marginal role in the percentages of
+		// optimality.
+		let partition_size = self.compute_optimal_partition_size(&zone_to_id, zone_redundancy)?;
+
+		msg.push("".into());
+		if old_assignment_opt.is_some() {
+			msg.push(format!(
+				"Optimal partition size:                     {} ({} in previous layout)",
+				ByteSize::b(partition_size).to_string_as(false),
+				ByteSize::b(self.partition_size).to_string_as(false)
+			));
+		} else {
+			msg.push(format!(
+				"Optimal partition size:                     {}",
+				ByteSize::b(partition_size).to_string_as(false)
+			));
+		}
+		// We write the partition size.
+		self.partition_size = partition_size;
+
+		if partition_size < 100 {
+			msg.push(
+				"WARNING: The partition size is low (< 100), make sure the capacities of your nodes are correct and are of at least a few MB"
+					.into(),
+			);
+		}
+
+		// We compute a first flow/assignment that is heuristically close to the previous
+		// assignment
+		let mut gflow =
+			self.compute_candidate_assignment(&zone_to_id, &old_assignment_opt, zone_redundancy)?;
+		if let Some(assoc) = &old_assignment_opt {
+			// We minimize the distance to the previous assignment.
+			self.minimize_rebalance_load(&mut gflow, &zone_to_id, assoc)?;
+		}
+
+		// We display statistics of the computation
+		msg.extend(self.output_stat(&gflow, &old_assignment_opt, &zone_to_id, &id_to_zone)?);
+
+		// We update the layout structure
+		self.update_ring_from_flow(id_to_zone.len(), &gflow)?;
+
+		if let Err(e) = self.check() {
+			return Err(Error::Message(
+				format!("Layout check returned an error: {}\nOriginal result of computation: <<<<\n{}\n>>>>", e, msg.join("\n"))
+			));
+		}
+
+		Ok(msg)
+	}
+
+	/// The LwwMap of node roles might have changed. This function updates the node_id_vec
+	/// and returns the assignment given by ring, with the new indices of the nodes, and
+	/// None if the node is not present anymore.
+	/// We work with the assumption that only this function and calculate_new_assignment
+	/// do modify assignment_ring and node_id_vec.
+	fn update_node_id_vec(&mut self) -> Result<Option<Vec<Vec<usize>>>, Error> {
+		// (1) We compute the new node list
+		// Non gateway nodes should be coded on 8bits, hence they must be first in the list
+		// We build the new node ids
+		let new_non_gateway_nodes: Vec<Uuid> = self
+			.roles
+			.items()
+			.iter()
+			.filter(|(_, _, v)| matches!(&v.0, Some(r) if r.capacity.is_some()))
+			.map(|(k, _, _)| *k)
+			.collect();
+
+		if new_non_gateway_nodes.len() > MAX_NODE_NUMBER {
+			return Err(Error::Message(format!(
+				"There are more than {} non-gateway nodes in the new \
+                            layout. This is not allowed.",
+				MAX_NODE_NUMBER
+			)));
+		}
+
+		let new_gateway_nodes: Vec<Uuid> = self
+			.roles
+			.items()
+			.iter()
+			.filter(|(_, _, v)| matches!(v, NodeRoleV(Some(r)) if r.capacity.is_none()))
+			.map(|(k, _, _)| *k)
+			.collect();
+
+		let old_node_id_vec = std::mem::take(&mut self.node_id_vec);
+
+		self.nongateway_node_count = new_non_gateway_nodes.len();
+		self.node_id_vec.clear();
+		self.node_id_vec.extend(new_non_gateway_nodes);
+		self.node_id_vec.extend(new_gateway_nodes);
+
+		let new_node_id_vec = &self.node_id_vec;
+
+		// (2) We retrieve the old association
+		// We rewrite the old association with the new indices. We only consider partition
+		// to node assignments where the node is still in use.
+		if self.ring_assignment_data.is_empty() {
+			// This is a new association
+			return Ok(None);
+		}
+
+		if self.ring_assignment_data.len() != NB_PARTITIONS * self.replication_factor {
+			return Err(Error::Message(
+				"The old assignment does not have a size corresponding to \
+                the old replication factor or the number of partitions."
+					.into(),
+			));
+		}
+
+		// We build a translation table between the uuid and new ids
+		let mut uuid_to_new_id = HashMap::<Uuid, usize>::new();
+
+		// We add the indices of only the new non-gateway nodes that can be used in the
+		// association ring
+		for (i, uuid) in new_node_id_vec.iter().enumerate() {
+			uuid_to_new_id.insert(*uuid, i);
+		}
+
+		let mut old_assignment = vec![Vec::<usize>::new(); NB_PARTITIONS];
+		let rf = self.replication_factor;
+
+		for (p, old_assign_p) in old_assignment.iter_mut().enumerate() {
+			for old_id in &self.ring_assignment_data[p * rf..(p + 1) * rf] {
+				let uuid = old_node_id_vec[*old_id as usize];
+				if uuid_to_new_id.contains_key(&uuid) {
+					old_assign_p.push(uuid_to_new_id[&uuid]);
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		// We clear the ring assignemnt data
+		self.ring_assignment_data = Vec::<CompactNodeType>::new();
+
+		Ok(Some(old_assignment))
+	}
+
+	/// This function generates ids for the zone of the nodes appearing in
+	/// self.node_id_vec.
+	pub(crate) fn generate_nongateway_zone_ids(
+		&self,
+	) -> Result<(Vec<String>, HashMap<String, usize>), Error> {
+		let mut id_to_zone = Vec::<String>::new();
+		let mut zone_to_id = HashMap::<String, usize>::new();
+
+		for uuid in self.nongateway_nodes().iter() {
+			let r = self.node_role(uuid).unwrap();
+			if !zone_to_id.contains_key(&r.zone) && r.capacity.is_some() {
+				zone_to_id.insert(r.zone.clone(), id_to_zone.len());
+				id_to_zone.push(r.zone.clone());
+			}
+		}
+		Ok((id_to_zone, zone_to_id))
+	}
+
+	/// This function computes by dichotomy the largest realizable partition size, given
+	/// the layout roles and parameters.
+	fn compute_optimal_partition_size(
+		&self,
+		zone_to_id: &HashMap<String, usize>,
+		zone_redundancy: usize,
+	) -> Result<u64, Error> {
+		let empty_set = HashSet::<(usize, usize)>::new();
+		let mut g = self.generate_flow_graph(1, zone_to_id, &empty_set, zone_redundancy)?;
+		g.compute_maximal_flow()?;
+		if g.get_flow_value()? < (NB_PARTITIONS * self.replication_factor) as i64 {
+			return Err(Error::Message(
+				"The storage capacity of he cluster is to small. It is \
+                       impossible to store partitions of size 1."
+					.into(),
+			));
+		}
+
+		let mut s_down = 1;
+		let mut s_up = self.get_total_capacity();
+		while s_down + 1 < s_up {
+			g = self.generate_flow_graph(
+				(s_down + s_up) / 2,
+				zone_to_id,
+				&empty_set,
+				zone_redundancy,
+			)?;
+			g.compute_maximal_flow()?;
+			if g.get_flow_value()? < (NB_PARTITIONS * self.replication_factor) as i64 {
+				s_up = (s_down + s_up) / 2;
+			} else {
+				s_down = (s_down + s_up) / 2;
+			}
+		}
+
+		Ok(s_down)
+	}
+
+	fn generate_graph_vertices(nb_zones: usize, nb_nodes: usize) -> Vec<Vertex> {
+		let mut vertices = vec![Vertex::Source, Vertex::Sink];
+		for p in 0..NB_PARTITIONS {
+			vertices.push(Vertex::Pup(p));
+			vertices.push(Vertex::Pdown(p));
+			for z in 0..nb_zones {
+				vertices.push(Vertex::PZ(p, z));
+			}
+		}
+		for n in 0..nb_nodes {
+			vertices.push(Vertex::N(n));
+		}
+		vertices
+	}
+
+	/// Generates the graph to compute the maximal flow corresponding to the optimal
+	/// partition assignment.
+	/// exclude_assoc is the set of (partition, node) association that we are forbidden
+	/// to use (hence we do not add the corresponding edge to the graph). This parameter
+	/// is used to compute a first flow that uses only edges appearing in the previous
+	/// assignment. This produces a solution that heuristically should be close to the
+	/// previous one.
+	fn generate_flow_graph(
+		&self,
+		partition_size: u64,
+		zone_to_id: &HashMap<String, usize>,
+		exclude_assoc: &HashSet<(usize, usize)>,
+		zone_redundancy: usize,
+	) -> Result<Graph<FlowEdge>, Error> {
+		let vertices =
+			LayoutVersion::generate_graph_vertices(zone_to_id.len(), self.nongateway_nodes().len());
+		let mut g = Graph::<FlowEdge>::new(&vertices);
+		let nb_zones = zone_to_id.len();
+		for p in 0..NB_PARTITIONS {
+			g.add_edge(Vertex::Source, Vertex::Pup(p), zone_redundancy as u64)?;
+			g.add_edge(
+				Vertex::Source,
+				Vertex::Pdown(p),
+				(self.replication_factor - zone_redundancy) as u64,
+			)?;
+			for z in 0..nb_zones {
+				g.add_edge(Vertex::Pup(p), Vertex::PZ(p, z), 1)?;
+				g.add_edge(
+					Vertex::Pdown(p),
+					Vertex::PZ(p, z),
+					self.replication_factor as u64,
+				)?;
+			}
+		}
+		for n in 0..self.nongateway_nodes().len() {
+			let node_capacity = self.expect_get_node_capacity(&self.node_id_vec[n]);
+			let node_zone = zone_to_id[self.expect_get_node_zone(&self.node_id_vec[n])];
+			g.add_edge(Vertex::N(n), Vertex::Sink, node_capacity / partition_size)?;
+			for p in 0..NB_PARTITIONS {
+				if !exclude_assoc.contains(&(p, n)) {
+					g.add_edge(Vertex::PZ(p, node_zone), Vertex::N(n), 1)?;
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		Ok(g)
+	}
+
+	/// This function computes a first optimal assignment (in the form of a flow graph).
+	fn compute_candidate_assignment(
+		&self,
+		zone_to_id: &HashMap<String, usize>,
+		prev_assign_opt: &Option<Vec<Vec<usize>>>,
+		zone_redundancy: usize,
+	) -> Result<Graph<FlowEdge>, Error> {
+		// We list the (partition,node) associations that are not used in the
+		// previous assignment
+		let mut exclude_edge = HashSet::<(usize, usize)>::new();
+		if let Some(prev_assign) = prev_assign_opt {
+			let nb_nodes = self.nongateway_nodes().len();
+			for (p, prev_assign_p) in prev_assign.iter().enumerate() {
+				for n in 0..nb_nodes {
+					exclude_edge.insert((p, n));
+				}
+				for n in prev_assign_p.iter() {
+					exclude_edge.remove(&(p, *n));
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		// We compute the best flow using only the edges used in the previous assignment
+		let mut g = self.generate_flow_graph(
+			self.partition_size,
+			zone_to_id,
+			&exclude_edge,
+			zone_redundancy,
+		)?;
+		g.compute_maximal_flow()?;
+
+		// We add the excluded edges and compute the maximal flow with the full graph.
+		// The algorithm is such that it will start with the flow that we just computed
+		// and find ameliorating paths from that.
+		for (p, n) in exclude_edge.iter() {
+			let node_zone = zone_to_id[self.expect_get_node_zone(&self.node_id_vec[*n])];
+			g.add_edge(Vertex::PZ(*p, node_zone), Vertex::N(*n), 1)?;
+		}
+		g.compute_maximal_flow()?;
+		Ok(g)
+	}
+
+	/// This function updates the flow graph gflow to minimize the distance between
+	/// its corresponding assignment and the previous one
+	fn minimize_rebalance_load(
+		&self,
+		gflow: &mut Graph<FlowEdge>,
+		zone_to_id: &HashMap<String, usize>,
+		prev_assign: &[Vec<usize>],
+	) -> Result<(), Error> {
+		// We define a cost function on the edges (pairs of vertices) corresponding
+		// to the distance between the two assignments.
+		let mut cost = CostFunction::new();
+		for (p, assoc_p) in prev_assign.iter().enumerate() {
+			for n in assoc_p.iter() {
+				let node_zone = zone_to_id[self.expect_get_node_zone(&self.node_id_vec[*n])];
+				cost.insert((Vertex::PZ(p, node_zone), Vertex::N(*n)), -1);
+			}
+		}
+
+		// We compute the maximal length of a simple path in gflow. It is used in the
+		// Bellman-Ford algorithm in optimize_flow_with_cost to set the number
+		// of iterations.
+		let nb_nodes = self.nongateway_nodes().len();
+		let path_length = 4 * nb_nodes;
+		gflow.optimize_flow_with_cost(&cost, path_length)?;
+
+		Ok(())
+	}
+
+	/// This function updates the assignment ring from the flow graph.
+	fn update_ring_from_flow(
+		&mut self,
+		nb_zones: usize,
+		gflow: &Graph<FlowEdge>,
+	) -> Result<(), Error> {
+		self.ring_assignment_data = Vec::<CompactNodeType>::new();
+		for p in 0..NB_PARTITIONS {
+			for z in 0..nb_zones {
+				let assoc_vertex = gflow.get_positive_flow_from(Vertex::PZ(p, z))?;
+				for vertex in assoc_vertex.iter() {
+					if let Vertex::N(n) = vertex {
+						self.ring_assignment_data.push((*n).try_into().unwrap());
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		if self.ring_assignment_data.len() != NB_PARTITIONS * self.replication_factor {
+			return Err(Error::Message(
+				"Critical Error : the association ring we produced does not \
+                       have the right size."
+					.into(),
+			));
+		}
+		Ok(())
+	}
+
+	/// This function returns a message summing up the partition repartition of the new
+	/// layout, and other statistics of the partition assignment computation.
+	fn output_stat(
+		&self,
+		gflow: &Graph<FlowEdge>,
+		prev_assign_opt: &Option<Vec<Vec<usize>>>,
+		zone_to_id: &HashMap<String, usize>,
+		id_to_zone: &[String],
+	) -> Result<Message, Error> {
+		let mut msg = Message::new();
+
+		let used_cap = self.partition_size * NB_PARTITIONS as u64 * self.replication_factor as u64;
+		let total_cap = self.get_total_capacity();
+		let percent_cap = 100.0 * (used_cap as f32) / (total_cap as f32);
+		msg.push(format!(
+			"Usable capacity / total cluster capacity:   {} / {} ({:.1} %)",
+			ByteSize::b(used_cap).to_string_as(false),
+			ByteSize::b(total_cap).to_string_as(false),
+			percent_cap
+		));
+		msg.push(format!(
+			"Effective capacity (replication factor {}):  {}",
+			self.replication_factor,
+			ByteSize::b(used_cap / self.replication_factor as u64).to_string_as(false)
+		));
+		if percent_cap < 80. {
+			msg.push("".into());
+			msg.push(
+				"If the percentage is too low, it might be that the \
+            cluster topology and redundancy constraints are forcing the use of nodes/zones with small \
+            storage capacities."
+					.into(),
+			);
+			msg.push(
+				"You might want to move storage capacity between zones or relax the redundancy constraint."
+					.into(),
+			);
+			msg.push(
+				"See the detailed statistics below and look for saturated nodes/zones.".into(),
+			);
+		}
+
+		// We define and fill in the following tables
+		let storing_nodes = self.nongateway_nodes();
+		let mut new_partitions = vec![0; storing_nodes.len()];
+		let mut stored_partitions = vec![0; storing_nodes.len()];
+
+		let mut new_partitions_zone = vec![0; id_to_zone.len()];
+		let mut stored_partitions_zone = vec![0; id_to_zone.len()];
+
+		for p in 0..NB_PARTITIONS {
+			for z in 0..id_to_zone.len() {
+				let pz_nodes = gflow.get_positive_flow_from(Vertex::PZ(p, z))?;
+				if !pz_nodes.is_empty() {
+					stored_partitions_zone[z] += 1;
+					if let Some(prev_assign) = prev_assign_opt {
+						let mut old_zones_of_p = Vec::<usize>::new();
+						for n in prev_assign[p].iter() {
+							old_zones_of_p
+								.push(zone_to_id[self.expect_get_node_zone(&self.node_id_vec[*n])]);
+						}
+						if !old_zones_of_p.contains(&z) {
+							new_partitions_zone[z] += 1;
+						}
+					}
+				}
+				for vert in pz_nodes.iter() {
+					if let Vertex::N(n) = *vert {
+						stored_partitions[n] += 1;
+						if let Some(prev_assign) = prev_assign_opt {
+							if !prev_assign[p].contains(&n) {
+								new_partitions[n] += 1;
+							}
+						}
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		if prev_assign_opt.is_none() {
+			new_partitions = stored_partitions.clone();
+			//new_partitions_zone = stored_partitions_zone.clone();
+		}
+
+		// We display the statistics
+
+		msg.push("".into());
+		if prev_assign_opt.is_some() {
+			let total_new_partitions: usize = new_partitions.iter().sum();
+			msg.push(format!(
+				"A total of {} new copies of partitions need to be \
+                             transferred.",
+				total_new_partitions
+			));
+			msg.push("".into());
+		}
+
+		let mut table = vec![];
+		for z in 0..id_to_zone.len() {
+			let mut nodes_of_z = Vec::<usize>::new();
+			for n in 0..storing_nodes.len() {
+				if self.expect_get_node_zone(&self.node_id_vec[n]) == id_to_zone[z] {
+					nodes_of_z.push(n);
+				}
+			}
+			let replicated_partitions: usize =
+				nodes_of_z.iter().map(|n| stored_partitions[*n]).sum();
+			table.push(format!(
+				"{}\tTags\tPartitions\tCapacity\tUsable capacity",
+				id_to_zone[z]
+			));
+
+			let available_cap_z: u64 = self.partition_size * replicated_partitions as u64;
+			let mut total_cap_z = 0;
+			for n in nodes_of_z.iter() {
+				total_cap_z += self.expect_get_node_capacity(&self.node_id_vec[*n]);
+			}
+			let percent_cap_z = 100.0 * (available_cap_z as f32) / (total_cap_z as f32);
+
+			for n in nodes_of_z.iter() {
+				let available_cap_n = stored_partitions[*n] as u64 * self.partition_size;
+				let total_cap_n = self.expect_get_node_capacity(&self.node_id_vec[*n]);
+				let tags_n = (self.node_role(&self.node_id_vec[*n]).ok_or("<??>"))?.tags_string();
+				table.push(format!(
+					"  {:?}\t{}\t{} ({} new)\t{}\t{} ({:.1}%)",
+					self.node_id_vec[*n],
+					tags_n,
+					stored_partitions[*n],
+					new_partitions[*n],
+					ByteSize::b(total_cap_n).to_string_as(false),
+					ByteSize::b(available_cap_n).to_string_as(false),
+					(available_cap_n as f32) / (total_cap_n as f32) * 100.0,
+				));
+			}
+
+			table.push(format!(
+				"  TOTAL\t\t{} ({} unique)\t{}\t{} ({:.1}%)",
+				replicated_partitions,
+				stored_partitions_zone[z],
+				//new_partitions_zone[z],
+				ByteSize::b(total_cap_z).to_string_as(false),
+				ByteSize::b(available_cap_z).to_string_as(false),
+				percent_cap_z
+			));
+			table.push("".into());
+		}
+		msg.push(format_table::format_table_to_string(table));
+
+		Ok(msg)
+	}
+}