On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 1:20 PM, Edward Ned Harvey <solar...@nedharvey.com>wrote:
> > From: zfs-discuss-boun...@opensolaris.org [mailto:zfs-discuss- > > boun...@opensolaris.org] On Behalf Of Peter Taps > > > > A few companies have already backed out of zfs > > as they cannot afford to go through a lawsuit. > > Or, in the case of Apple, who could definitely afford a lawsuit, but choose > to avoid it anyway. > > > > I am in a stealth > > startup company and we rely on zfs for our application. The future of > > our company, and many other businesses, depends on what happens to zfs. > > For a lot of purposes, ZFS is the clear best solution. But maybe you're > not > necessarily in one of those situations? Perhaps you could use Microsoft > VSS, or Linux BTRFS? > > 'Course, by all rights, those are copy-on-write too. So why doesn't netapp > have a lawsuit against kernel.org, or microsoft? Maybe cuz they just know > they'll damage their own business too much by suing Linus, and they can't > afford to go up against MS. I guess. > > Because VSS isn't doing anything remotely close to what WAFL is doing when it takes snapshots. I haven't spent much time looking at the exact BTRFS implementation, but I'd imagine the fact its on-disk format isn't "finalized" (last I heard) would make it a bit pre-mature to file a lawsuit. I'm sure they're actively watching it as well. Furthermore, I'm sure the fact one of the core zfs developers, Matt Ahrens, previously interned for the filesystem group at NetApp had just a *BIT* to do with the lawsuit. From their perspective, it's just a bit too convenient someone gets access to the crown jewels, then runs off to a new company and creates a filesystem that looks and feels so similar. Of course, taking stabs in the dark on this mailing list without having access to all of the court documents isn't really constructive in the first place. Then again, neither are people trying to claim they have a solid understanding of the validity of the lawsuit(s), on this mailing list, who aren't IP lawyers. --Tim
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