Talk:ZFS/Virtual disks
Linear Span
Is there a reason why the example in Linear Span points to sdX instead of virtual disks? Having "...they are free to experiment without fear of actual data loss" in the beginning could make you feel safe and pasting that accidentally. Strikemybread (talk) 16:06, 16 June 2020 (UTC)
- I tried to fix the example so that it would work and be safe to repeat. Kulibin (talk) 11:49, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
Terminology: vdev
Hi, this article seems to imply that "vdev" in ZFS is just another term for "virtual disk". I'm no expert, but I don't think that's correct.
The man page of zpool says that vdevs can be files, disks, or collections of disks such as mirrors and RAIDZ arrays: so a physical disk can definitely be a vdev.
The same page says that vdevs can't be nested. In the examples here, the files are added as members to either mirrors or arrays, so I don't think they are vdevs themselves. Andrea (talk) 16:17, 19 May 2021 (UTC)
Linear Span
I cannot repeat this example. The "san" type is missing from the documentation. I suggest deleting this section. Kulibin (talk) 07:38, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
- I tried to fix the example so that it would work and be safe to repeat. Kulibin (talk) 11:49, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
Rename this article (once again)
Originally it was named "Playing with ZFS", then it was renamed to "Experimenting with ZFS", then to "ZFS/Virtual disks" in Special:Diff/448697 by @Alad with comment "use a meaningful title". Aaand… this article is not about virtual disks at all:) Well… it's like renaming "Linux console" to "Screen and keyboard". File vdev is just underlying technology, we can use e.g. a bunch of flash drives with the same result (easy to experiment, no data loss on main drive, etc.)
Search for site:https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/ "virtual disk". OpenZFS does not use this term at all (they use it only in ZFS-on-root manual, and that disk is virtual indeed—that's a virtual machine disk). I.e. we use non-ZFS term in ZFS article name. For me, it's like saying "root folder" or "home folder" to be more newcomer-friendly:) Some red lines should still exist:D
See also the Talk:ZFS/Virtual disks#Terminology: vdev topic above.
"Virtual device" ("vdev") is a correct term, see zpoolconcepts(7) § Virtual Devices (vdevs), but, unfortunately, this rabbit hole is a bit deeper than we might want it to be.
At first, official manual page (mentioned above) clearly states, that "virtual device" may be a block device, a regular file, a mirror, etc., and virtual devices can be nested (not arbitrary). So, this article uses regular files as "virtual devices" ("vdevs") which are nested to create another virtual devices (mirrors and other raids) which in turn are used by ZFS pools. Looks good?
NO! There is very contrary opinion: A vdev is a container. This opinion is quite popular, because it simplifies thinking about all these layers of ZFS turtles: "The top level structure is the zpool. A zpool consists of one or more vdevs. Each vdev consists of one or more disks." In short, "vdev" is GNU/Linux of ZFS world:D
What about just "Examples"? We have some such subpages, e.g. Font configuration/Examples or Professional audio/Examples.
— Andrei Korshikov (talk) 16:08, 20 February 2026 (UTC)
- ZFS/Examples works for me. How about also moving ZFS#Tips_and_tricks there, considering the size and related nature of that section? -- Alad (talk) 19:04, 1 March 2026 (UTC)
- I have such thought too, so I agree. I've added Template:Move with link to this discussion in Special:Diff/867893.
- — Andrei Korshikov (talk) 21:18, 1 March 2026 (UTC)
Add bookmarks example
Bookmarks is quite a niche feature, but it is well suited for home users (laptop with relatively small SSD, no zrepl/syncoid to NAS, manual zfs send from time to time).
My favorite description of the feature: https://discourse.practicalzfs.com/t/curious-as-to-the-utility-of-zfs-bookmarks/1890/2