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I can't get myself to use ZFS on Linux with the licensing uncertainty. Anyone using it in production has got lawyers looking into this?

Operyl 7y ago
Ubuntu/SFLC: https://blog.ubuntu.com/2016/02/18/zfs-licensing-and-linux https://blog.ubuntu.com/2016/02/18/zfs-licensing-and-linux It links to http://blog.dustinkirkland.com/2016/02/zfs-licensing-and-linux.html http://blog.dustinkirkland.com/2016/02/zfs-licensing-and-lin... and https://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2016/linux-kernel-cddl.html https://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2016/linux-kernel-...
- SteveNuts 7y ago
  It's Oracle. They'll sue you just because lawsuits are a core part of their business. I have no doubt they'll eventually start litigating on this. Oracle is basically the Westboro Baptist Church of the tech world.
  - Operyl 7y ago
    Sure, it could happen, I'm only providing the requested links here.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
nabla9 7y ago
Legal issues matter only if there is change of getting sued. Canonical Ltd. is confident enough to supply ZFS as a Linux module. If there are any legal issues, they are the ones taking the heat.
- rbanffy 7y ago
  While I'd love to see a Larry Ellison vs Mark Shuttleworth Geek Celebrity Deathmatch, I'm sure Oracle would sue anyone they think they could convince to settle out of court. Extracting as much blood as possible from their customers without killing them is in their DNA.
  - nabla9 7y ago
    > I'm sure Oracle would sue anyone they think they could convince to settle out of court It seems that they are convinced that they don't. Installing separate ZFS modules on Linux seems to be compatible with the CDDLv1. Oracle has had time to mull over the decision made by Canonical and they have not made any moves. Even if they had a case, Oracle has many customers using Linux and Ubuntu. Losing goodwill and messing with their customers software providers is net negative.
danieldk 7y ago
IANAL, but why do you care if you are not redistributing ZFS or Linux? As far as I understand, both the GPL and CDDL only impose limitations on redistribution. So, it is more a problem for distributors, like Canonical. Even there, people like Eben Moglen believe that joint redistribution of Linux and ZFS is probably ok, since it does not violate the licenses in spirit: https://lwn.net/Articles/687550/ https://lwn.net/Articles/687550/

Operyl 7y ago

Ubuntu/SFLC: https://blog.ubuntu.com/2016/02/18/zfs-licensing-and-linux https://blog.ubuntu.com/2016/02/18/zfs-licensing-and-linux It links to http://blog.dustinkirkland.com/2016/02/zfs-licensing-and-linux.html http://blog.dustinkirkland.com/2016/02/zfs-licensing-and-lin... and https://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2016/linux-kernel-cddl.html https://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2016/linux-kernel-...

SteveNuts 7y ago
It's Oracle. They'll sue you just because lawsuits are a core part of their business. I have no doubt they'll eventually start litigating on this. Oracle is basically the Westboro Baptist Church of the tech world.
- Operyl 7y ago
  Sure, it could happen, I'm only providing the requested links here.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

nabla9 7y ago

Legal issues matter only if there is change of getting sued. Canonical Ltd. is confident enough to supply ZFS as a Linux module. If there are any legal issues, they are the ones taking the heat.

rbanffy 7y ago
While I'd love to see a Larry Ellison vs Mark Shuttleworth Geek Celebrity Deathmatch, I'm sure Oracle would sue anyone they think they could convince to settle out of court. Extracting as much blood as possible from their customers without killing them is in their DNA.
- nabla9 7y ago
  > I'm sure Oracle would sue anyone they think they could convince to settle out of court It seems that they are convinced that they don't. Installing separate ZFS modules on Linux seems to be compatible with the CDDLv1. Oracle has had time to mull over the decision made by Canonical and they have not made any moves. Even if they had a case, Oracle has many customers using Linux and Ubuntu. Losing goodwill and messing with their customers software providers is net negative.

danieldk 7y ago

IANAL, but why do you care if you are not redistributing ZFS or Linux? As far as I understand, both the GPL and CDDL only impose limitations on redistribution. So, it is more a problem for distributors, like Canonical. Even there, people like Eben Moglen believe that joint redistribution of Linux and ZFS is probably ok, since it does not violate the licenses in spirit: https://lwn.net/Articles/687550/ https://lwn.net/Articles/687550/