From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 References: In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v1084) Content-Type: multipart/signed; protocol="application/pgp-signature"; micalg=pgp-sha1; boundary="Apple-Mail-39-275614985" Message-Id: Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit From: Anthony Sorace Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:11:03 -0400 To: Fans of the OS Plan 9 from Bell Labs <9fans@9fans.net> Subject: Re: [9fans] Help with two small shared file servers Topicbox-Message-UUID: 13c80f62-ead7-11e9-9d60-3106f5b1d025 This is an OpenPGP/MIME signed message (RFC 2440 and 3156) --Apple-Mail-39-275614985 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 On Aug 17, 2011, at 6:09 AM, Aram H=C4=83v=C4=83rneanu wrote: > What's the best option for RAID in Plan9? I understand I can use > either Ken's fileserver or the Plan9 '#k' device.=20 note that neither of these are RAID in the way most people expect. = failure notification, in particular, can be lacking, and they're more restricted = in what they try to do that many RAID systems. that said, I've used #k quite = happily for years with no issues (and periodic correctness checks). i'm not sure what support, if any, we have for hardware RAID controllers = other than ones which present a single logical disk. those, though, should be = an option if you're concerned. > Can anyone shed some light on why I might want one and not the other? > Are there any other options? ken's fs is a kernel, and essentially gives you a 9p-accessible file = storage appliance. it takes another box to be able to run it. #k is part of the = standard cpu server kernel, and is typically used in conjunction with fossil = and/or venti. really, you usually want to decide between Ken's fs and fossil = (with or without venti). the basics: Ken's FS used to be the default file server in Plan 9. It's a kernel, = and takes over a box. It is only directly accessible via 9p and il, which pretty much = means via Plan 9 (cpu servers can share the resources as they like, of course). It = does automatic daily archives of the whole system. It does limited = de-duplicating. It is very fast and extremely stable. fossil is a newer file server, designed for use with venti (but usable = on its own, as well). it can be configured to do daily archives and/or periodic = ephemeral snapshots (you pick how often and how long they last). It can be used = stand- alone (can't do archives that way, but can still do snapshots) or with = venti, in which case you get venti's block-level deduplication (and direct access = to block-level storage). fossil performs reasonably and is relatively = stable, but less so than ken's fs (and, personally, seems more sensitive to = unexpected shutdown). venti is very stable. typically, if fossil goes belly-up, you = can reconstruct it from venti (in every case i've seen). personally, if you (a) have the extra box to spare, (b) can put in a = little extra work up front, (c) don't care about direct access to block-level = storage, and (d) can live without ephemeral snapshots, i'd suggest ken's fs; = otherwise, i'd suggest fossil backed by venti. (note that (d) above is slightly tricky, as the ephemeral snapshots in = fossil seem to trigger a bug that causes fossil to hang periodically; most = reports have that happening every ~2 months or so) this gets asked often, and is worth a wiki page. > Do you recommend fossil+venti or kfs? I've seen that a lot of people = prefer kfs. note that "kfs", confusingly, is not "ken's fs". that's sometimes (more = confusingly) informally called "kenfs". kfs is a quite old offshoot that used to be = the standard install on things like laptops or other stand-alone systems before = fossil came along. of kenfs, kfs, and fossil (with or without venti), kfs is your most = "traditional" file system. no snapshots or archives, no connection to venti or similar, no = block or file level de-duplicating. it still has a place, but doesn't sound like = what you want. > Are there any options for block level encryption on Plan9? there have been a handful of such experiments, but i'm pretty sure = there's nothing in the stock distribution. check the 9fans archives for discussion of = the various experiments. i'm not sure if any were quite "there" yet. > Is 9p suitable for this? How will the 40ms latency affect 9p = operation? i expect that'll be well low enough for most uses. > I assume there are no good 9p drivers for Windows so I can > access my data directly. there was at least one good one, but (last i checked) it's not generally = available (search the archives for "rangboom" for more info). > How good are the various > Plan9 SMB servers? (On the long term I might write a 9p filesystem > driver for Windows, I've been a Windows filesystem developer in a past > life). Is it better if I use the Plan9 boxen only for AoE with a Linux > on top that serves SMB? i've used the plan9 smb stuff only lightly, but it's worked well for me. = there are folks actively paying attention to it and interested in having it work = well, which is always good. he linux stuff will doubtless be more well-tested, but = then you (a) have an extra layer of stuff to set up and configure, and (b) have = linux. i'd give the plan9 smb stuff a shot and see how it works for you. > Are there some kind of external enclosures that can hold a reasonable > number of drives and connect via eSATA or something? Are they fast = enough? "fast enough" depends on your needs. you've said you're on 100Mbit, = though, so i'd expect most decent eSATA enclosures to be fast enough to saturate = that link. i have no recommendations on specific enclosures. anthony= --Apple-Mail-39-275614985 content-type: application/pgp-signature; x-mac-type=70674453; name=PGP.sig content-description: This is a digitally signed message part content-disposition: inline; filename=PGP.sig content-transfer-encoding: 7bit -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG/MacGPG2 v2.0.16 (Darwin) iEYEARECAAYFAk5Ly/4ACgkQyrb52b5lrs4HBgCeOWgG0vMhmDygMWpN7LIS0MUp 8TEAn1m0b1lL5Due55XGKcNLe9Fguhic =8C3h -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --Apple-Mail-39-275614985--