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Does anyone know a good guide for getting set up with ZFS (particularly on Linux/Ubuntu)? The Ubuntu wiki basically just say "apt install zfs" and then links to

Does anyone know a good guide for getting set up with ZFS (particularly on Linux/Ubuntu)? The Ubuntu wiki basically just say "apt install zfs" and then links to a page that appears to be a brain dump of all the possible commands. Something with more coherence explanation of the relevant concepts would be really helpful.

rincebrain 9y ago
[1] is a nice explanation of getting set up with ZFS root on Ubuntu 16.04 with explanations for what each of the commands are doing. I'm not in a good position to judge whether this is the correct level of detail for someone new to ZFS; it seems slightly lighter on explanation of concepts than I'd prefer. [2] seems reasonably nice at a quick look. [1] - https://github.com/zfsonlinux/zfs/wiki/Ubuntu-16.04-Root-on-ZFS https://github.com/zfsonlinux/zfs/wiki/Ubuntu-16.04-Root-on-... [2] - http://kbdone.com/zfs-basics/ http://kbdone.com/zfs-basics/
funkaster 9y ago
if it's about management, then you might want to look at the docs I recommend in the post: Oracle's docs are very detailed[1] and the freebsd handbook[2] is very useful as well. [1]: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19253-01/819-5461/gamnq/index.html http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19253-01/819-5461/gamnq/index.htm... [2]: https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/zfs.html https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/zfs.html
sargun 9y ago
What are you setting up ZFS for?
weitzj 9y ago
I have documented the steps I had to take here https://janweitz.de/article/creating-a-zfs-zroot-raid-10-on-ubuntu-16.04/ https://janweitz.de/article/creating-a-zfs-zroot-raid-10-on-... Be aware: Uefi did not work for me in VirtualBox with ZFS. Booting with UEFI, ZFS and RAIDz works, but I did not figure out how to install the UEFI grub-boot on all RAIDz drives. Therefore, if the one and only drive with the boot partition fails, I have to rely on an USB-stick as a backup-plan for the bootloader. Probably if I could start over I would try to skip UEFI and use legacy booting and installing Grub in the MBR of each drive (if that is possible). For encryption we are using Luks right now, since it encrypts block devices and ZFS uses these block devices to form its raid. Luks needs to decrypt ALL raid devices inside the Grub boot prompt in order for ZFS to start its raidz. To make this happen, we had to modify: /usr/share/initramfs-tools/hooks/cryptroot and remove an early return in a for-loop in get_fs_devices() , since otherwise only the first device was decrypted. Make sure /etc/lvm/lvm.conf contains use_lvmetad = 0 Make sure /etc/default/grub contains GRUB_ENABLE_CRYPTODISK=y GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=“text" So, yeah, I am looking forward for zfs-native encryption on Linux to make booting "safer/easier".
- vetinari 9y ago
  Maybe I had a better luck, for me, UEFI boot with ZFS in Virtualbox did work. I've used CentOS though. Multiple UEFI boot partition are possible, but just like you note in your article, they have to be outside the ZFS pool. All of them. Then you set order for each one using efibootmgr. For each, you will get a separate entry in UEFI boot manager. It is not necessary to install grub2 after rebooting into ZFS root. It is perfectly fine to run grub2-install in chroot from your temporary installation.
weitzj 9y ago
Just another tip, which will give you an easier ZFS setup on Debian. Use https://www.proxmox.com/ https://www.proxmox.com/. They use Debian and it just works with ZFS.
xenophonf 9y ago
https://gist.github.com/xenophonf/2e2d1a1550b0fb8dae98 https://gist.github.com/xenophonf/2e2d1a1550b0fb8dae98 That's for Ubuntu 14, but it's basically the same process for Ubuntu 16. Neither installer supports root on ZFS, so you have to install Ubuntu to a flash drive, create the ZFS pool from the live environment, and then copy the contents of the flash drive onto the ZFS pool. Just ignore the bits about dual-booting Mac OS X.
scottLobster 9y ago
Not explicitly Ubuntu, but with a little translation I think the Arch Linux ZFS wiki page would serve you well: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ZFS https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ZFS

rincebrain 9y ago

[1] is a nice explanation of getting set up with ZFS root on Ubuntu 16.04 with explanations for what each of the commands are doing. I'm not in a good position to judge whether this is the correct level of detail for someone new to ZFS; it seems slightly lighter on explanation of concepts than I'd prefer. [2] seems reasonably nice at a quick look. [1] - https://github.com/zfsonlinux/zfs/wiki/Ubuntu-16.04-Root-on-ZFS https://github.com/zfsonlinux/zfs/wiki/Ubuntu-16.04-Root-on-... [2] - http://kbdone.com/zfs-basics/ http://kbdone.com/zfs-basics/

funkaster 9y ago

if it's about management, then you might want to look at the docs I recommend in the post: Oracle's docs are very detailed[1] and the freebsd handbook[2] is very useful as well. [1]: http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19253-01/819-5461/gamnq/index.html http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19253-01/819-5461/gamnq/index.htm... [2]: https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/zfs.html https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/zfs.html

sargun 9y ago

What are you setting up ZFS for?

weitzj 9y ago

I have documented the steps I had to take here https://janweitz.de/article/creating-a-zfs-zroot-raid-10-on-ubuntu-16.04/ https://janweitz.de/article/creating-a-zfs-zroot-raid-10-on-... Be aware: Uefi did not work for me in VirtualBox with ZFS. Booting with UEFI, ZFS and RAIDz works, but I did not figure out how to install the UEFI grub-boot on all RAIDz drives. Therefore, if the one and only drive with the boot partition fails, I have to rely on an USB-stick as a backup-plan for the bootloader. Probably if I could start over I would try to skip UEFI and use legacy booting and installing Grub in the MBR of each drive (if that is possible). For encryption we are using Luks right now, since it encrypts block devices and ZFS uses these block devices to form its raid. Luks needs to decrypt ALL raid devices inside the Grub boot prompt in order for ZFS to start its raidz. To make this happen, we had to modify: /usr/share/initramfs-tools/hooks/cryptroot and remove an early return in a for-loop in get_fs_devices() , since otherwise only the first device was decrypted. Make sure /etc/lvm/lvm.conf contains use_lvmetad = 0 Make sure /etc/default/grub contains GRUB_ENABLE_CRYPTODISK=y GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=“text" So, yeah, I am looking forward for zfs-native encryption on Linux to make booting "safer/easier".

vetinari 9y ago
Maybe I had a better luck, for me, UEFI boot with ZFS in Virtualbox did work. I've used CentOS though. Multiple UEFI boot partition are possible, but just like you note in your article, they have to be outside the ZFS pool. All of them. Then you set order for each one using efibootmgr. For each, you will get a separate entry in UEFI boot manager. It is not necessary to install grub2 after rebooting into ZFS root. It is perfectly fine to run grub2-install in chroot from your temporary installation.

weitzj 9y ago

Just another tip, which will give you an easier ZFS setup on Debian. Use https://www.proxmox.com/ https://www.proxmox.com/. They use Debian and it just works with ZFS.

xenophonf 9y ago

https://gist.github.com/xenophonf/2e2d1a1550b0fb8dae98 https://gist.github.com/xenophonf/2e2d1a1550b0fb8dae98 That's for Ubuntu 14, but it's basically the same process for Ubuntu 16. Neither installer supports root on ZFS, so you have to install Ubuntu to a flash drive, create the ZFS pool from the live environment, and then copy the contents of the flash drive onto the ZFS pool. Just ignore the bits about dual-booting Mac OS X.

scottLobster 9y ago

Not explicitly Ubuntu, but with a little translation I think the Arch Linux ZFS wiki page would serve you well: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ZFS https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ZFS