ZFS file system
Hi,
can someone please clarify something about the ZFS file system that is/will be included in MAC OS ?
Does this means, that I will be able to store MORE data on a same physical hard drive ?
Like 2000000 ZFS gigas on my current NTFS 200 gigas disk ?
Cordially,
Brakkar
can someone please clarify something about the ZFS file system that is/will be included in MAC OS ?
Quote:
ZFS is a 128-bit file system, so it can store 18 billion billion (18.4 × 1018) times more data than current 64-bit systems. The limitations of ZFS are designed to be so large that they will not be encountered in practice for some time.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zfs#Storage_pools
ZFS is a 128-bit file system, so it can store 18 billion billion (18.4 × 1018) times more data than current 64-bit systems. The limitations of ZFS are designed to be so large that they will not be encountered in practice for some time.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zfs#Storage_pools
Does this means, that I will be able to store MORE data on a same physical hard drive ?
Like 2000000 ZFS gigas on my current NTFS 200 gigas disk ?
Cordially,
Brakkar
Comments
Hi,
can someone please clarify something about the ZFS file system that is/will be included in MAC OS ?
Does this means, that I will be able to store MORE data on a same physical hard drive ?
Like 2000000 ZFS gigas on my current NTFS 200 gigas disk ?
Cordially,
Brakkar
No, I'm afraid not. The quote you cited merely means that ZFS can deal with larger drives than other file systems, should the hardware become available. (ZFS also lets you pool multiple drives together so they appear as one, so I guess the technology has practical use even though such large individual drives are not yet available.)
Amorya
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Does this means, that I will be able to store MORE data on a same physical hard drive ?
Like 2000000 ZFS gigas on my current NTFS 200 gigas disk ?
Of course not. You need the necessary physical storage for this to work.
It is analogous to what happens with 64-bit processors and memory. Such a processor can address much more than 4 GB of memory, but if you only have 2 GB installed, there is no way to go beyond the physical limit (2 GB in this case).
... but if you only have 2 GB installed, there is no way to go beyond the physical limit (2 GB in this case).
Not quite. Your can easily address much more than of 2 GB memory through virtual memory. Your larger point is, however, correct. There is no counterpart to virtual memory for hard drives. Therefore, you are limited by the physical capacity of your hard drive irrespective of your file system.
Not quite. Your can easily address much more than of 2 GB memory through virtual memory.
Yes, it is true. I just had in mind the physical limitations. Thanks for pointing out.
i think i'm right in thinking that zfs is an unconfirmed feature of leopard. i for one hope it'll be in there, but hard to know..
It was confirmed read-only. This would mean no change of default filesystem. We'll have to wait and see how ZFS development progresses though. It may be wise to hold off until it gets thorough real worlds testing in servers before dropping it on consumers.
It was confirmed read-only. This would mean no change of default filesystem. We'll have to wait and see how ZFS development progresses though. It may be wise to hold off until it gets thorough real worlds testing in servers before dropping it on consumers.
i don't understand how a file system can be used read-only
i don't understand how a file system can be used read-only
That means you can view/copy data from external disks formatted using said filesystem, not much else, no saving/deleting/creating files.
That means you can view/copy data from external disks formatted using said filesystem, not much else, no saving/deleting/creating files.
so any files would have to be created using solaris?... i see. not of much use to the home user, eh
Not quite. Your can easily address much more than of 2 GB memory through virtual memory. Your larger point is, however, correct. There is no counterpart to virtual memory for hard drives. Therefore, you are limited by the physical capacity of your hard drive irrespective of your file system.
Since data on drives can still be read after it has been deleted (by talented hackers that is), could one not theoretically create a program that could be used to delete and write over a file but still access it creating virtual disk space? I realize that this is hardly feasible for many reasons, but the key word is theoretically.
could one not theoretically create a program that could be used to delete and write over a file but still access it creating virtual disk space? I realize that this is hardly feasible for many reasons, but the key word is theoretically.
The only way to get more storage from a disk is to use on-the-fly compression. You get it with the Windows filesystems. I don't know how reliable it is or how much of a performance hit it takes though. I would imagine that given how fast our processors are these days, it might make more sense to use it and that way it cuts down the amount of data needed to write to the drive.
so any files would have to be created using solaris?... i see. not of much use to the home user, eh
There is a ZFS read/write component for Leopard but it's currently not bundled with the system, you have to download it. It's a kernel extension so installing it would allow read/write. I really wish they had an NTFS one though.
Another little bitty detail about ZFS, it can not (yet) be used for a boot drive. So far, it is for storage only.
Not true (sorta): http://opensolaris.org/os/community/...es/2007032801/
Solaris can boot from ZFS on the x86 platform. SPARC is coming. Regardless, as I understand it, that isn't a limitation of the file system itself. It's a problem with the boot loader and the OS.
Personally, I think ZFS is going to have to wait for OS 10.6.