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Unfortunately, Sun (now Oracle) provided the original source code under the CDDL, so re-licensing it would require Oracle's approval, which is unlikely to happe

Unfortunately, Sun (now Oracle) provided the original source code under the CDDL, so re-licensing it would require Oracle's approval, which is unlikely to happen. ZFS's license is compatible with those of FreeBSD and Illumos, which are very stable operating systems. Given that ZFS is most likely to be used for a SAN or a NAS box, you can quite easily use FreeBSD for those boxes and Linux for your application servers if you choose.

shmerl 13y ago
So essentially Oracle still owns the original rights on it? How does it work with derivatives? Let's say OpenZFS over the years will move far away from Oracle's ZFS. Will it sill be indirectly controlled by them as in not allowing to relicense it?
- lambada 13y ago
  Generally it's a complicated area. Generally the only safe way to sneak out from under an existing license would be a black-box rewrite, done by people who hadn't looked at the source for the original version. Otherwise the original author could claim that it's a derivative work, and thus falls under the terms of the original license. The CDDL in particular specifies that any modifications (changes, additions or deletions to the source code or their files) are also under the CDDL. See http://web.archive.org/web/20090305064954/http://www.sun.com/cddl/cddl.html http://web.archive.org/web/20090305064954/http://www.sun.com... 3.2,3.4 along with their definition of Modification. However, even a black-box rewrite could still fall foul of any patents granted to the original creators.
  - rbanffy 13y ago
    > the only safe way to sneak out from under an existing license would be a black-box rewrite It still doesn't protect you of patent lawsuits.
  - shmerl 13y ago
    > However, even a black-box rewrite could still fall foul of any patents granted to the original creators. Well, OpenZFS is already vulnerable to it. So if Oracle will decide to sabotage it, it easily can.
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
      - shmerl 13y ago
        If CDDL prevents patent abuse by Oracle for derivatives - then great.
        lambada 13y ago
        My understanding (although I'm not certain) is that a license to use and modify the software also implicitly grants a license to use the patents contained in the original code.
        mzs 13y ago
        Yup, section 2 essentially grants that.

shmerl 13y ago

So essentially Oracle still owns the original rights on it? How does it work with derivatives? Let's say OpenZFS over the years will move far away from Oracle's ZFS. Will it sill be indirectly controlled by them as in not allowing to relicense it?

lambada 13y ago
Generally it's a complicated area. Generally the only safe way to sneak out from under an existing license would be a black-box rewrite, done by people who hadn't looked at the source for the original version. Otherwise the original author could claim that it's a derivative work, and thus falls under the terms of the original license. The CDDL in particular specifies that any modifications (changes, additions or deletions to the source code or their files) are also under the CDDL. See http://web.archive.org/web/20090305064954/http://www.sun.com/cddl/cddl.html http://web.archive.org/web/20090305064954/http://www.sun.com... 3.2,3.4 along with their definition of Modification. However, even a black-box rewrite could still fall foul of any patents granted to the original creators.
- rbanffy 13y ago
  > the only safe way to sneak out from under an existing license would be a black-box rewrite It still doesn't protect you of patent lawsuits.
- shmerl 13y ago
  > However, even a black-box rewrite could still fall foul of any patents granted to the original creators. Well, OpenZFS is already vulnerable to it. So if Oracle will decide to sabotage it, it easily can.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
    - shmerl 13y ago
      If CDDL prevents patent abuse by Oracle for derivatives - then great.
      - lambada 13y ago
        My understanding (although I'm not certain) is that a license to use and modify the software also implicitly grants a license to use the patents contained in the original code.
        mzs 13y ago
        Yup, section 2 essentially grants that.