which file system to use

[ubuntu at rio.vg]

David Abrahams wrote:
> ubuntu at rio.vg writes:
> 
> Isn't that "given the fact that the FUSE implementation isn't finished
> yet?"

With the license issue, ZFS cannot be implemented in the kernel, thus,
it can never be bootable in linux.

>> no boot possibility ever, not just no /boot, but you'd have to wait
>> until the full user system comes up before mounting it.  
> 
> Hm; what does that mean in practice?

No boot, no root.

>> FUSE is noted for doing things like sshfs.  Things that are very cool,
>> but not exactly what I'd depend on for production machines, nevermind
>> entrusting it to critical data.
> 
> Wow, educate me.  What's wrong with sshfs?

While very cool, I wouldn't depend on it for mission critical
infrastructure.

>> We have, shall we say, somewhat different requirements in our server
>> environments.  
> 
> Maybe not.  I'm still setting up my first server, and am the first to
> admit I have lots to learn.

I run servers for a living.  If the servers fail, I'm out of a job.

>> Good luck with Nextenta.  I used to run Solaris servers, and
>> needless to say, I'll be much happier never to run one ever again.
> 
> Maybe not needless.  At least, I'd like to know the details.  From
> what I've read from "Linux people" who've been looking at the
> OpenSolaris code, its standard of quality is far above what they've
> been given to expect.

Simply put, Solaris is a pain in the ass.  An awful lot of junk depends
on other things and it all gets installed and runs on boot for no good
reason.  It's like a big tangled mess.  The GNU tools are much better.
Who knows, maybe just stripping out the kernel and good things and you
can make a decent OS, we'll see.  Keep in mind, though, Solaris supports
far less hardware than Linux does.  Sun servers are incredibly
expensive.  I had $50,000 machines.  I suspect the drivers are skewed in
the direction of the more expensive equipment.

>> An FS isn't like some beta piece of software you can just throw
>> about and restart or debug if it breaks down.  When an FS breaks, it
>> takes all your data with it.  
> 
> Sure.  My impression of ZFS is that resiliency been much more
> carefully thought out than on any of the others, and that the bulk of
> the code will have been very heavily exercised on Solaris in the field
> before it ever makes it over to FUSE.

You see, that's the trick about FS's.  You can stamp out 99.9% of the
bugs, and maybe only one in a thousand hits it, but for those one in a
thousand, their data is toast.