>>1517210>>1517778Here is a full paste of Grok’s output on running ZFS on Linux:
> https://pastebin.com/RVVnbvZ1I’ll include what fits here:
Yes, it is absolutely possible to run ZFS on Linux, and while it’s not as “easy” as using a natively integrated filesystem like ext4, it’s become quite straightforward thanks to modern tools and widespread support. ZFS, originally developed by Sun Microsystems for Solaris, has been ported to Linux and is now a mature, production-ready filesystem option. Here’s a breakdown of the feasibility and ease of use:
Possibility
ZFS on Linux (often abbreviated ZoL) is maintained as an open-source project, now under the OpenZFS umbrella since the unification of efforts across platforms (Linux, FreeBSD, etc.). It’s implemented as a kernel module with userspace utilities, meaning it’s not baked into the Linux kernel by default due to licensing incompatibilities (ZFS uses the CDDL, while the Linux kernel is GPL). Despite this, it’s widely supported and actively developed, with contributions from companies like Canonical, Red Hat, and the broader community.
Ease of Installation
Running ZFS on Linux has become relatively easy, especially on distributions that provide prebuilt packages. The process varies slightly depending on your distro, but here’s the general experience:
1 Supported Distros:
◦ Ubuntu: Since 16.04 LTS, ZFS is included in the official repositories and supported natively by Canonical. It’s as simple as:sudo apt update
◦ sudo apt install zfsutils-linux
◦ You can even choose ZFS as a root filesystem during installation with newer Ubuntu releases.
◦ Debian: Available in the contrib repository. Enable it, then:sudo apt update
◦ sudo apt install zfsutils-linux
◦
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