Alan Cox on the Inclusion of Sun's ZFS in the Kernel
After rumors in May of Suns ZFS filesystem being included in the kernel, kernel developer Alan Cox has now refuted the claims pointing to Sun's licensing policy.
A developer called Fred had pointed out the ZFS support for Grub was now GPL'd. The code could be used to add ZFS support to the kernel.
Alan Cox refuted this option arguing that any further implementation would contravene Sun's licensing policy. Cox had repeatedly asked Sun for permission to use the code, but without receiving a reply. He concluded on the Linux kernel mailing list that Sun wanted to appear to be open, but was not handing ZFS to Linus Torvalds as the filesystem was the only argument for continuing to use Solaris in data centers.
Boot loader expert H. Peter Anvin added that GRUB only supported a rudimentary ZFS read only driver. Kernel developer Christoph Hellwig considers even read only support for ZFS to be a benefit for the kernel. On the list he offered to provide mentoring support for its implementation, if somebody is prepared to implement the project.
Thanks to its competent volume management, Sun's ZFS is regarded as a sophisticated filesystem and it can handle large volumes of data thanks to 128 bit pointers. If needed, the filesystem can be dynamically scaled; it identifies and removes filesystem errors without major performance hits and supports freezing and cloning of sectors. Most of ZFS is still under the Sun Open Source License CDDL.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusIssue 261/2022
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
KaOS 2022.06 Now Available With KDE Plasma 5.25
The newest iteration of KaOS Linux not only adds the latest KDE Plasma desktop but sets LibreOffice as the default.
-
Manjaro 21.3.0 Is Now Available
Manjaro “Ruah” has been released and includes the latest Calamares installer, GNOME 42, and much more.
-
SpiralLinux is a New Linux Distribution Focused on Simplicity
A new Linux distribution, from the creator of GeckoLinux, is a Debian-based operating system with a focus on simplicity and ease of use.
-
HP Dev One Linux Laptop is Now Available for Pre-Order
The System76/HP collaboration Dev One laptop, geared toward developers, is now available for pre-order.
-
NixOS 22.5 Is Now Available
The latest release of NixOS with a much-improved package manager and a user-friendly graphical installer.
-
System76 Teams up with HP to Create the Dev One Laptop
HP and System76 have come together to develop a new laptop, powered by Pop!_OS and aimed toward developers.
-
Titan Linux is a New KDE Linux Based on Debian Stable
Titan Linux is a new Debian-based Linux distribution that features the KDE Plasma desktop with a focus on usability and performance.
-
Danielle Foré Has an Update for elementary OS 7
Now that Ubuntu 22.04 has been released, the team behind elementary OS is preparing for the upcoming 7.0 release.
-
Linux New Media Launches Open Source JobHub
New job website focuses on connecting technical and non-technical professionals with organizations in open source.
-
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 Now Available
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 has been released with all the additions from upstream as well as other features and improvements.
Alan cox and the inclusion of sun zfs in the kernel