OpenZFS on OS X - User contributions [en]

Creating user privileges

2014-05-28T15:26:12Z

217.226.87.46: Typo fixed.

A freshly installed ZFS volume comes with restrictive user privileges. To use it normally, you will have to create new user privileges.

Click at the icon of your mounted ZFS pool on your desktop, select in the menu bar File > Information.

Click at the little lock icon at the bottom, type in an admin username and password.

Click at the Plus icon at the bottom on the left.

Add a your own user name or all administrators with read and write privileges.

Try to copy some file to your pool.

User talk:Ilovezfs

2014-05-28T14:36:29Z

217.226.87.46: Why did you delete the page Preparing a drive?

Why did you delete the page [[Preparing a drive]]?

Documentation

2014-05-28T13:52:48Z

217.226.87.46: You cannot start with any storage device, you must prepare it.

[[Category:About O3X]]
[[Category:Getting and installing O3X]]

== Documentation ==

General OpenZFS usage can be found on the [http://open-zfs.org OpenZFS wiki]. But we do need to document some Apple OS X specific things.

=== Getting started ===

* [[Preparing a storage device for ZFS]]
* [[zpool#Creating_a_pool|Creating a pool]]
* [[Creating user privileges]]
* [[Encryption]]

=== Integration ===

* [[Suppressing the annoying pop-up]]

* [[Autoimport|Automatically importing pools]]

=== Troubleshooting ===

* [[DegradedPool|Degraded pool]]

* [[panic|Kernel panic]]

Talk:Zpool

2014-05-28T13:44:20Z

217.226.87.46:

=== Write for Macintosh users ===

OK, folks you are doing this for Mac users. Anything other than formD is not an option if you want to do anything useful with OSX. If someone needs something else, he will know where to find it.

=== Mount point ===

It would be nice to recommend setting the mount point at zpool creation time with the -m option to mount in the /Volumes folder as expected on OS X.

: Response: /Volumes is supposed to be reserved for file systems mounted by Disk Arbitration, so this would be inappropriate.

===Ashift===

sudo zpool create -f -o ashift=13 -O casesensitivity=insensitive -O normalization=formD -m /Volumes/$poolname $poolname mirror /dev/diskX /dev/diskY

Also, it sounds like ashift really should be 13 for most people.

:The documentation should suggest a useful default value for Macintosh users. What is it about?

Zpool

2014-05-28T13:37:08Z

217.226.87.46: On OS X you will want to use [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode_equivalence#Normal_forms NFD normalization], or quite a few applications won't work, e. g. iTunes.

== Creating a pool ==

In the past, it was customary to label (i.e., partition) the disks before using them with ZFS. This is no longer the case. Now the preferred method is to have ZFS label the disks for you.

On OS X you will want to use [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode_equivalence#Normal_forms NFD normalization], or quite a few applications won't work, e. g. iTunes.

The default for ashift is 9, but you will most likely want to create pools with an ashift of 12, which is appropriate for 4096 (4k) disks (i.e., Advanced Format disks), even if your disks are still the older 512. If you are using SSDs in your pool now, or anticipate replacing any of your pool's disks with SSDs in the future, then an ashift of 13 is a better choice. It is important to get this right now because a vdev's ashift cannot be changed after the vdev is created.

'''Recommended pool creation command line'''

sudo zpool create -f -o ashift=12 -O casesensitivity=insensitive -O normalization=formD $poolname mirror /dev/diskX /dev/diskY

Or using "\" to show it broken up over multiple lines:

sudo zpool create -f -o ashift=12 \
-O casesensitivity=insensitive \
-O normalization=formD \
$poolname mirror /dev/diskX /dev/diskY

* Replace $poolname with the name of the pool you want. For example, "tank."
* ''If you want to use the entire disk for ZFS'', replace /dev/diskX and /dev/diskY with the available disks. For example, /dev/disk1 and /dev/disk2.
* If you have already partitioned the disk, and wish to only use a slice, use /dev/diskXsN. For example, /dev/disk1s2.
* -f instructs ZFS to label the disk for you.

Use "diskutil list" to make sure you pick the correct disk before attempting to create your pool. Note that if you partition the disk yourself, and specify a slice for ZFS, you are responsible for making sure the partition table shows the partition type is ZFS. This can be done with OS X's built-in "gpt" command or the easier to use "gdisk" command, which can be downloaded [http://sourceforge.net/projects/gptfdisk/ here].

You can also decide to disable '''access time''', enable '''compression,''' and all those nice things. But that can be done at any time in ZFS. For example

sudo zfs set compression=lz4 $poolname

or for pool version 28 compatibility

sudo zfs set compression=on $poolname

If you do want compression, you should turn it on '''as soon as possible''', or enable it at the time the pool is created. Turning compression on later will ''only'' apply to new data added to a dataset going forward, ''not'' the preexisting uncompressed data you already put in the dataset while compression was turned off.

For example, you may want to use something like this

sudo zpool create -f -o ashift=12 -O compression=lz4 -O casesensitivity=insensitive -O atime=off -O normalization=formD tank mirror /dev/disk3 /dev/disk4

Or using "\" to show it broken up over multiple lines:
sudo zpool create -f -o ashift=12 \
-O compression=lz4 \
-O casesensitivity=insensitive \
-O atime=off \
-O normalization=formD \
tank mirror /dev/disk3 /dev/disk4

If you absolutely must be compatible with non-OpenZFS implementations of ZFS (e.g., Oracle Solaris), you'd need to do

sudo zpool create -f -o version=28 -o ashift=12 -O compression=on -O casesensitivity=insensitive -O atime=off -O normalization=formD tank mirror /dev/disk3 /dev/disk4

Or using "\" to show it broken up over multiple lines:

sudo zpool create -f -o version=28 -o ashift=12 \
-O compression=on \
-O casesensitivity=insensitive \
-O atime=off \
-O normalization=formD \
tank mirror /dev/disk3 /dev/disk4

== Unplugging a pool ==

The equivalent of unmounting a device before unplugging it, is exporting a pool in ZFS terminology.

Before unplugging any devices you '''must export all pools used by the device'''.

sudo zpool export $poolname

The export can sometimes fail if the mount is busy (as with all filesystems). So you might need to close any
applications still accessing the pool. Also, there is an option "-f" to force unmount while exporting:

sudo zpool export -f $poolname

If you are just rebooting, you do not need to export first.

Talk:Autoimport

2014-05-28T13:31:08Z

217.226.87.46:

What am I supposed to do if I have no developer tools and no git installed?

The link to an external source looks fishy and insecure to me: What does this all mean, what does it do? Could anyone comment the code lines, please?

Zpool

2014-05-28T13:27:07Z

217.226.87.46: /* Unplugging a pool */

== Creating a pool ==

In the past, it was customary to label (i.e., partition) the disks before using them with ZFS. This is no longer the case. Now the preferred method is to have ZFS label the disks for you.

The case-sensitivity default is sensitive, but some 3rd party apps on OS X don't work entirely right if you have a case-sensitive volume. Normalization default is none, though OS X likes [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode_equivalence#Normal_forms NFD normalization], or you may have some issues with characters.

The default for ashift is 9, but you will most likely want to create pools with an ashift of 12, which is appropriate for 4096 (4k) disks (i.e., Advanced Format disks), even if your disks are still the older 512. If you are using SSDs in your pool now, or anticipate replacing any of your pool's disks with SSDs in the future, then an ashift of 13 is a better choice. It is important to get this right now because a vdev's ashift cannot be changed after the vdev is created.

'''Recommended pool creation command line'''

sudo zpool create -f -o ashift=12 -O casesensitivity=insensitive -O normalization=formD $poolname mirror /dev/diskX /dev/diskY

Or using "\" to show it broken up over multiple lines:

sudo zpool create -f -o ashift=12 \
-O casesensitivity=insensitive \
-O normalization=formD \
$poolname mirror /dev/diskX /dev/diskY

* Replace $poolname with the name of the pool you want. For example, "tank."
* ''If you want to use the entire disk for ZFS'', replace /dev/diskX and /dev/diskY with the available disks. For example, /dev/disk1 and /dev/disk2.
* If you have already partitioned the disk, and wish to only use a slice, use /dev/diskXsN. For example, /dev/disk1s2.
* -f instructs ZFS to label the disk for you.

Use "diskutil list" to make sure you pick the correct disk before attempting to create your pool. Note that if you partition the disk yourself, and specify a slice for ZFS, you are responsible for making sure the partition table shows the partition type is ZFS. This can be done with OS X's built-in "gpt" command or the easier to use "gdisk" command, which can be downloaded [http://sourceforge.net/projects/gptfdisk/ here].

You can also decide to disable '''access time''', enable '''compression,''' and all those nice things. But that can be done at any time in ZFS. For example

sudo zfs set compression=lz4 $poolname

or for pool version 28 compatibility

sudo zfs set compression=on $poolname

If you do want compression, you should turn it on '''as soon as possible''', or enable it at the time the pool is created. Turning compression on later will ''only'' apply to new data added to a dataset going forward, ''not'' the preexisting uncompressed data you already put in the dataset while compression was turned off.

For example, you may want to use something like this

sudo zpool create -f -o ashift=12 -O compression=lz4 -O casesensitivity=insensitive -O atime=off -O normalization=formD tank mirror /dev/disk3 /dev/disk4

Or using "\" to show it broken up over multiple lines:
sudo zpool create -f -o ashift=12 \
-O compression=lz4 \
-O casesensitivity=insensitive \
-O atime=off \
-O normalization=formD \
tank mirror /dev/disk3 /dev/disk4

If you absolutely must be compatible with non-OpenZFS implementations of ZFS (e.g., Oracle Solaris), you'd need to do

sudo zpool create -f -o version=28 -o ashift=12 -O compression=on -O casesensitivity=insensitive -O atime=off -O normalization=formD tank mirror /dev/disk3 /dev/disk4

Or using "\" to show it broken up over multiple lines:

sudo zpool create -f -o version=28 -o ashift=12 \
-O compression=on \
-O casesensitivity=insensitive \
-O atime=off \
-O normalization=formD \
tank mirror /dev/disk3 /dev/disk4

== Unplugging a pool ==

The equivalent of unmounting a device before unplugging it, is exporting a pool in ZFS terminology.

Before unplugging any devices you '''must export all pools used by the device'''.

sudo zpool export $poolname

The export can sometimes fail if the mount is busy (as with all filesystems). So you might need to close any
applications still accessing the pool. Also, there is an option "-f" to force unmount while exporting:

sudo zpool export -f $poolname

If you are just rebooting, you do not need to export first.