zfs
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Mac Pro owner crafts an example Fusion Drive, shows the fearless how it's done
Mac fans not keen on picking up a new iMac to get that best-of-all-worlds Fusion Drive might not have to consider a full-on system swap if they're brave enough. Knowing how Apple's approach unites an SSD and a spinning hard drive in a single logical volume, developer Patrick Stein has used command line code to do just that inside his Mac Pro and prove that it works. His series of experiments with organized data shows the effect on storage speeds and that the pseudo-Fusion should even work with less common ZFS formatting. The publicly available instructions could well be tempting to Mac fans who want speed and storage all at once, although we might personally take a pass -- there's more than a fair share of risk in using an unofficial hack to recreate a storage technique that Apple hasn't even shipped.
ZEVO ZFS on OS X project now part of GreenBytes
Update: GreenBytes has announced that starting in September, the ZEVO Community Edition product will be offered as a freely downloadable binary. As they get closer to the launch date, more info will be shared -- including a rundown on new, improved features from the previous commercial version. --- The ZEVO ZFS technology for Mac, developed by former Apple engineer Don Brady at his company Ten's Complement, has been acquired by enterprise storage vendor GreenBytes. Brady announced the transition on Twitter and on the Ten's Complement site; he is joining the GreenBytes development team. ZFS is a file system invented in 2004 at Sun (now part of Oracle) which offers next-generation support for huge volumes, fault tolerance and other essential Big Storage features. The history of ZFS on OS X is somewhat convoluted. In the run-up to OS X Leopard 10.5, it seemed likely that ZFS would be used as an alternative or replacement for HFS+ as the Mac's primary file system format. That never materialized, and the announced/anticipated support for ZFS in Snow Leopard never shipped either. Apple's open source ZFS project was closed down in 2009. Ten's Complement originally announced the ZEVO product in March of 2011. As to the future of the project, GreenBytes' spokesman Michael Robinson responded to TUAW's inquiry: "ZEVO's ZFS on OS X is safe. Ten's Complement has joined GreenBytes to continue their work and now they have more development support." Robinson says that GreenBytes will have more to share regarding ZEVO's future "down the line." Thanks Bill.
How-To: Set up a home file server using FreeNAS
Ask Engadget: What's the best budget NAS? Kingston Wi-Drive for iOS hits stores today, lets you create your own portable music server for $130 Tilera sees sense in the server wars, puts just 36 cores in its newest processorIn today's digital world we've all got data, and lots of it. Our libraries are also growing rapidly: where you used to get by setting aside a few bookshelves for your books, CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes, we now require untold server space to preserve our beloved media in digitized form. We also want our data to be itinerant, or at least seem that way. That is, if you want to take a book or disc to another room of your abode, you pull it from the bookshelf and take it with you. Similarly, if you're working on a document upstairs on your desktop and you want to move to the den with your laptop, you'll need the proper infrastructure working in the background to enable that kind of wizardry. So, how can we create this "digital bookshelf?" Can you go out and buy it now? Can you build it in your garage? As it turns out, the answer is "yes" on all counts. You could go out and buy a Drobo device but in this case, we're going to assemble our own. And we're going to do that with the help of an open source storage platform called FreeNAS. So how involved a process is that? Meet us after the break to find out.
ZFS open source project abruptly shuts down, Snow Leopard weeps icy tears
The on-again / off-again love affair between Apple and ZFS seems to be all but over, with a brief but potent message on the Mac OS Forge project site stating the following: "The ZFS project has been discontinued. The mailing list and repository will also be removed shortly." If you'll recall, the implementation of the ZFS file system within Snow Leopard server was so close to happening that Apple actually published it as a feature of the forthcoming OS back in June of 2008. Now, however, all hope has presumably been lost. We'd bother explaining the rumors behind why all of this has suddenly crumbled, but honestly, will knowing the reasons really help the pain? No, no it won't. [Via TUAW]
ZFS project for Mac OS X discontinued
Is it a forgotten project? A fit of open-source pique? Or is it just that everyone got really busy on other stuff? Looks like Apple has just shut down the ZFS project for Mac OS X. The site for the project on Mac OS Forge reads: ZFS Project Shutdown 2009-10-23 The ZFS project has been discontinued. The mailing list and repository will also be removed shortly. It's hinted that this was caused by legal issues surrounding the merger of Sun Microsystems and Oracle, which caused Apple to back away from the next-generation file system technology. After many rumors, including ZFS support that was going to be added in Snow Leopard Server, but that ended up being removed in the final version, it now seems like the saga of ZFS on Mac OS X is ending with a whimper. [via Daring Fireball]
Vista, OS X updates could bring significant SSD speed gains
It's been a real roller coaster ride of emotions with SSD. The once lauded (at least in our hearts) savior of all things computing has, in real life, provided us with lackluster and even controversial performance gains, while battery improvements haven't been revolutionary and the prices still aren't exactly wallet-friendly. Most of that is unlikely to change in the next couple of years, but there's still plenty to be fixed in the short term. Samsung is working with Microsoft to define optimum packet sizes and best practices for reading and writing files to SSD as a potential update for Windows Vista, which is particularly optimized to work best with traditional hard drives. Sun is also working to improve SSD support with its next-gen ZFS file system, which in addition to powering its Solaris OS should be making an appearance in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, at least in the server version. There's clearly still plenty of untapped potential in SSD, let's just hope the powers that be figure this stuff out sooner rather than later.[Via Mac Rumors]
Datto's Z Series: world's first on / off-site backup solution to use ZFS
Datto earned a round of golf claps with its Backup NAS by bringing comparatively affordable off-site storage to the small businesses of the world, but it's giving itself a round of applause with the Z Series. Hailed as the "planet's first on and off-site backup solution to use ZFS," these units provide up to 1TB of local and off-site storage, optional RAID 1 local redundancy, twin gigabit Ethernet ports, OS X / Windows / Linux compatibility and the obligatory rock-solid stability that ZFS is known for. You'll also get a rapid recovery promise, which enables you to sleep easy knowing that your data can be restored within 24 hours should disaster strike. The units range in capacity from 250GB ($499) to 1TB ($1,149), while the required service packages demand anywhere between $35 per month to $1,000 a year.
ZFS file system coming to Snow Leopard server edition
It's been almost exactly a year since we heard any chatter over Apple's adoption of the supposedly rock solid 128-bit ZFS file system, but it appears to be heading into the next version of the company's OS... at least for servers. According to the promo page for Snow Leopard for OS X servers, the redundant, error correcting, dynamic volume expanding format will be available when the new system drops, though there's no mention of whether it will make its way onto the standard version of the software. With data handling that's this tight, our only question is why wouldn't it make the cut?[Thanks, Mark]
Apple posts Snow Leopard Server information
Many people forget that Apple makes 2 variants of OS X for Macs: client (that's the one you run on your personal Mac) and Server (which is normally found on a server, oddly enough). We've already posted (twice) about the client version of Snow Leopard, but what about Apple's next iteration of their server product?Head on over to the Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard page that Apple just put up, and you'll find out a thing or two about what your Mac server will be serving up in about a year or so. Amongst the new features we find: iCal Server 2: Adds group and shared calendars as well as a way to invite non-iCal Server users to meetings and events. Also includes a web app to let people access their calendars on the go. Podcast Producer 2: This little known Apple app makes creating content and getting it into the iTunes Store a snap. This version looks like it adds a number of great features including support for recording both the presenter and the presentation they are giving and a way to locally host your podcasts. Address Book Server: This new component lets you share contacts across machines, as well as create a central Address Book without having to have an LDAP server. ZFS: The long rumored addition of Sun's file-system is finally coming to OS X Server. Snow Leopard will be able to both read and write to ZFS volumes. All in all, Snow Leopard Server seems to add quite a few new features.Thanks, Nate.
Apple previews OS X Snow Leopard: scheduled to ship "in about a year"
The next iteration of OS X was mentioned early on during today's WWDC 2008 keynote, but little was said afterwards. Thankfully, Apple hasn't left us completely out to dry, as a recent release gives a few clues as to what Snow Leopard has in store. First and foremost, the OS isn't expected to ship until about this time next year, and just as predicted, it will be more evolutionary than revolutionary. Specifically, it will "enhance the performance of OS X and set a new standard for quality... rather than focusing primarily on new features." Still, we do know that it'll play nice with Microsoft Exchange 2007 from the get-go, provide "unrivaled support for multi-core processors" with a new technology dubbed Grand Central, extend support "for modern hardware with Open Computing Language (OpenCL)," and raise the software limit on system memory up to a theoretical 16TB of RAM. Heck, you'll even find QuickTime X in there. Yeah, we love those new features, but we can honestly say we're looking forward to a nice round of polishing.Update: Looks like some more solid info has been posted to Apple's page. Head here for more on Snow Leopard desktop and Snow Leopard server (which will include iCal Server 2, 128-bit ZFS support, Podcast Producer 2, the first version of their Address Book server based on CardDAV, and more).
Read / write ZFS beta for Leopard reportedly sent to developers
It looks like the on again off again reports of support for the newfangled ZFS file system in Leopard are on again, at least according to the latest word from Mac Rumors, which is citing unspecified "published reports" on the matter. What's more, this apparently isn't the stripped-down, read only incarnation of ZFS we heard about earlier this month, but a full-fledged read/write version, the beta of which has reportedly already been sent to developers. ZFS, for those not up on their file systems, was developed by Sun and promises a range of advantages over lesser file systems, including storage pooling, block-journaling, and other things that a rare few get really excited about.Update: Reader skwasha notes that apparently the ZFS Leopard files have been pulled, but produced a document regarding the ZFS dev preview, which states: "ZFS is a new filesystem from Sun Microsystems which has been ported by Apple to Mac OS X. The initial (10.5.0) release of Leopard will restrict ZFS to read-only, so no ZFS pools or filesystems can be modified or created. This Developer Preview will enable full read/write capability, which includes the creation/destruction of ZFS pools and filesystems." So there ya go.
Leopard does / does not use ZFS, part III: it does! (kinda)
Hopefully this is the last time we'll be forced to post on this topic, but we're not holding our breath: now InformationWeek -- which quoted an Apple executive this morning stating the polar opposite -- is reporting that Sun's ZFS file system IS in fact included in Leopard, albeit with a number of huge caveats. According to a company spokesperson seeking to clear up Brian Croll's "misstatement," while HFS+ continues to be the primary system used in OS X, ZFS has been coded in as a latent, "read-only option available from the command line." An IW reader claims to have accessed the system through Disk Utility's Erase menu, and states that "ZFS is only available on non-boot drives on Sun systems, so this is also the case for Leopard" -- seemingly reinforcing Croll's later assertion that Apple is really only "exploring it as a file system option for high-end storage systems with really large storage." So there you have it: Sun's Jonathan Schwartz wasn't pulling our leg after all, even if ZFS fanboys won't be pleased with the (presumably) final word on this.
No ZFS by default for Leopard
Remember when Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun, told an audience that OS X would be sporting ZFS as the file system of choice and that we would find out all about it at WWDC? It would seem no one told Apple that, as the Stevenote came and went with nary a mention of ZFS or Sun. InformationWeek caught up with Brian Croll, Apple's senior director of product marketing for Mac OS X, and asked about ZFS on the Mac. Croll said, "ZFS is not happening," and that HFS+ is the default.It is unclear if Leopard will still support ZFS as an option, but it is clear that the default is still HSF+.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.Update: ZFS is still an option in Leopard, it is just not the default. I've updated the headline to reflect this.
Apple: no ZFS for Leopard
Much to the dismay of those Macheads who've started hitting size limits in Tiger's HFS+ file system (all ten of you), Apple has confirmed to InformationWeek that Leopard will not in fact adopt the more capacious ZFS alternative as promised last week by Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz. Senior director of product marketing for the Mac OS Brian Croll told IW point blank that "ZFS is not happening," contradicting Schwartz's assertion that his company's 128-bit file system would be bringing goodies like built-in data integrity and virtual storage to the iMac and friends. Meanwhile, Sun had no comment on the matter. Of course for most users creating an average Word or Photoshop document, this reversal really doesn't mean much, and may in fact be beneficial when we consider the higher processing demands made by the so-called 'Zettabyte File System." For changes in Leopard that are actually, like, real, you can check out our roundup of the new features right here.
Sun says Apple is switching to ZFS in Leopard
You dealt with it when Apple switched you from MFS to HFS, and again you were switched from HFS to HFS+ (and even journaled HFS+), and you'll deal with it again: according to Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz (whom you may know for his totally righteous pony tail), Apple is going to use Sun's crazy advanced ZFS filesystem when they move users over to Leopard. The material advantages may not be immediately apparent to the average user (when was the last time you whipped up a multi-exabyte file?), but it will do some excellentay things like storage pooling (aka virtual storage), block-journaling, and plenty of other nerdy things about which you can read up on elsewhere. Expect to hear more about this one next Monday at WWDC.Watch - Schwartz talks it up [Via MacRumors]Read - More about why this is a Good Thing (TM)
ZFS in Leopard?
The French site Mac4Ever appears to have found evidence (in the newest developer release) that Leopard will include the ZFS file system to supplement HFS+. What is ZFS you ask, and why should you care? Well ZFS is a pretty darn cool next generation file system created by Sun that includes a variety of cool new features for protecting your data (if any file system features can properly be called "cool"). John Siracusa over at arstechnica has written about ZFS several times, rather excitedly. I'll let him explain what the excitement is about: "ZFS does away with the old restrictions on volume size and scope, while also addressing data integrity and performance issues, all from a purely software perspective. (Like one slide says, "ZFS loves cheap disks!")The end game is a world where storage-even personal storage-actually behaves like the magically intelligent, infinitely expandable cloud that we'd all like to think it is, and less like those temperamental little cylinders (to use some diagram-speak, if I may). It's daring, free-thinking stuff."If this is true and ZFS is in fact shipping with Leopard, it may go a long way towards explaining how Time Machine will work in the final release, despite the fact that in the original developer release Time Machine did not use ZFS. It would be yet another example of Apple being out on the edge and leading the mainstream PC industry (linux hackers don't count) forward.[Via Digg through OSNews]
Rumor: Apple Enterprise Products to use ZFS
In the last 12 months, the storage demand at my workplace (a university of 10,000 students) has risen exponentially. The 2.4TB NAS purchased last summer was outstripped by the end of our second semester just a few weeks ago. We'll recover a lot of that space by deep-sixing unused and stale accounts--which we can do every semester--but this does not address the growing problem of long-term storage and archival of data generated by our students, faculty, and staff. Eventually, we'll need to figure out a way to keep some--if not most--of this data indefinitely. The good news is that storage costs continue to decline--one terabyte of data storage is about $1500-$2000 right now. The bad news is that managing these massive amounts of data only continues to get more and more complex.Microsoft's answer to this problem is WinFS, a new filesystem and storage manager that was to be included in Vista. WinFS would be the solution to some of these storage problems by providing a scalable filesystem built on top of a relational database. WinFS would have allowed for metadata tagging, datastore consolidation and sophisticated backup/restore, notifications, and access rules (ACL's). It's exactly what the Enterprise market needs right now, a sophisticated and stable solution for this growing problem. The problem is that Microsoft has yanked WinFS from Vista and will only be using pieces of it in Vista's Server version. Vista will run on the increasing old and creaky NTFS.Some industry experts are suggesting that Apple may include the open source ZFS file system/content manager in their upcoming Leopard Server. ZFS was produced at Sun Microsystems about two years ago and was recently integrated into the most recent version of Solaris 10. An employee at Sun has posted to the Mac OS X Server mailing list that Apple may be interested in porting Mac OS X to run on ZFS.If it's true that Apple may build Leopard Server to run on top of ZFS (instead of HFS+), it would place them in a strong position in the Enterprise market. Apple's X-Serve, X-RAID, and X-SAN are already some of the most affordable enterprise-level storage products on the market. Having a new, fast, scalable, reliable file system and content management system combined with Apple's traditionally easy-to-use admin tools might give Apple a powerful push into the coveted Enterprise storage market.
