zfs discuss - Dec 2006 - ZFS

So, I''ve read the wikipedia, and have done a lot of research on google
about it, but it just doesn''t make sense to me.  Correct me if
I''m wrong, but you can take a simple 5/10/20 GB drive or whatever size,
and turn it into exabytes of storage space?

If that is not true, please explain the importance of this other than the self
heal and those other features.

Thank you very much,
Andrew
 
 
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Andrew Summers wrote:
> So, I''ve read the wikipedia, and have done a lot of research on
google about it, but it just doesn''t make sense to me.  Correct me if
I''m wrong, but you can take a simple 5/10/20 GB drive or whatever size,
and turn it into exabytes of storage space?
>
> If that is not true, please explain the importance of this other than the
self heal and those other features.
>   
I''m probably to blame for the image of endless storage.  With ZFS
Sparse
Volumes (aka: Thin Provisioning) you can make a 1G drive _look_ like a
500TB drive, but of course it isn''t.  See my entry on the topic here: 
http://www.cuddletech.com/blog/pivot/entry.php?id=729

With ZFS Compression you can, however, potentially store 10GB of data on
a 5GB drive.  It really depends on what type of data your storing and
how compressible it is, but I''ve seen almost 2:1 compression in some
cases by simply turning compression on.

benr.

Thanks Ben, and thanks Jason for clearing everything up for me via e-mail!  Hope
you two, and everyone here have a great Christmas and a happy holiday!
 
 
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