[9fans] Encrypting file systems

[quanstro@quanstro.net (erik quanstrom)]

> I thought I read somewhere that kfs was deprecated.  In one of the man
> pages?  On the wiki?  I don't recall.  It was about the old kfs file
> system being replaced by fossil...or something like that.

ken's file server (aka the plan 9 file server) is not kfs.  kfs is a stripped
down, stand-alone version with no history.  see /sys/doc/fs/fs.ps for
a somewhat terse overview of ken's file server.

i run several instances.  the big one at coraid handles a moderately-sized
company on relatively modest hardware.  it can push 100s of mb/s.
yet it lacks mp and 64-bit support.

in theory venti+fossil replaces ken's fs.  but in practice, there seem to
be lingering questions about fossil.

my personal opinion is that ken's fs does it's job very well, and competing
by reducing the amount of storage used (such as fossl+venti do in this
role) is hard to do today, especially if the result is more complicated.

clearly, to gain traction, you'll need a compelling story.  say, a properly
distrbuted file server.

- erik