By the numbers: ZFS Performance Results from Six Operating Systems and Their Derivatives

Michael Dexter <editor@callfortesting.org>

The OpenZFS file system provides an unprecedented opportunity in automated testing: A powerful, common storage system available on Illumos, FreeBSD, GNU/Linux, macOS, NetBSD, Microsoft Windows, and their derivatives. This talk will explore the challenges of establishing a POSIX environment across these diverse platforms, and a meaningful and consistent test suite within the confines of that environment. Lessons learned using ten identical hardware machines will include the bootstrapping of a new platform like OpenZFS on Windows, extended performance results of FreeBSD vs. FreeBSD/ZoL, and the need for portable tools across diverse operating systems.