This section compares features and capabilities of the Novell Storage Services file system on Novell Open Enterprise Server 2015 SP1 to those of NCP volumes on Linux POSIX file systems such as Ext3, XFS, BtrFS, and Reiser. For information, see Managing NCP Volumes
in the OES 2015 SP1: NCP Server for Linux Administration Guide.
For information to help you choose from among the numerous Linux file system offerings, see Overview of Linux POSIX File Systems
in the OES 2015 SP1: Linux POSIX Volume Administration Guide.
|
Feature Description |
NSS on OES 2015 and Later |
NCP Volumes on Linux POSIX File Systems |
|---|---|---|
|
Management interfaces |
Novell iManager Storage plug-in. For information, see Section 10.1, Novell iManager and Storage-Related Plug-Ins. NSSMU for Linux NLVM NSS utilities in a terminal console NSS commands in the NSS Console (NSSCON) Novell Remote Manager for Linux (browse only) |
YaST > Partitioner for managing devices Novell Remote Manager for Linux (Managing Shares) NCP commands in the NCP Console (NCPCON) Various Linux commands and utilities in a terminal console. NSSMU NLVM commands |
|
File system trustees and trustee rights to control access to directories and files |
Yes, works with or without concurrent running of NCP Server. |
Yes, requires NCP Server to enforce the rights and access on the extended attributes. |
|
File access protocols |
NCP CIFS/Samba using Novell Samba Linux NFS (version 3) Linux NFS and Samba requires users to be Linux-enabled with Linux User Management. The service must also be LUM enabled. Novell AFP for Linux Novell CIFS for Linux |
NCP CIFS/Samba using Novell Samba NCP Volumes and Samba requires users to be Linux-enabled with Linux User Management. The service must also be LUM enabled. |
|
File system directory and file attributes to control functions available for directories and files |
Files and Folders plug-in to iManager Novell NetStorage Novell Client Novell Remote Manager for Linux. See |
Not applicable. Use POSIX file and directory attributes. |
|
Directory quotas |
Yes, requires the Directory Quotas attribute to be enabled. |
Yes |
|
User space quotas (user space restrictions) |
Yes, for OES Linux SP2 and later |
Yes, if the Linux file system being used under the NCP share supports user quotas and the Linux file system resides on a local, iSCSI, or Fibre Channel drive. All users of the NCP volume must be LUM enabled. Manage the user quotas using the Linux file system tools. |
|
Default mount location for NSS pools |
/opt/novell/nss/mnt/.pools/poolname |
Not applicable. |
|
Volume name space |
Long is the default name space, which is case insensitive. You can specify the UNIX name spaces on mounting the NSS volume to make its directory names and filenames case sensitive. Using UNIX name space slows performance compared to using Long. For example: ncpcon mount /opt=ns=<long|unix|dos|mac> <volume_name>
The name space options are case sensitive. |
UNIX; no support for case insensitive names. |
|
Salvage for deleted volumes, directories, and files |
Yes |
No |
|
Volume encryption |
Yes, for OES SP2 and later |
Yes, for Reiser |
|
File compression |
Yes |
No |
|
Data shredding (secure deletion) |
Yes, up to 7 times |
No |
|
Online resizing of volumes and pools |
Yes |
Yes, depending on the file system |
|
Multiple I/O paths to storage media For information, see Managing Multipath I/O for Devices in the SLES 11: Storage Administration Guide. |
No; NSS-specific multipath I/O tools as are not available on Linux. Use the Linux Device Mapper driver support for mutlipath I/O on devices where you plan to create NSS file systems. |
Use the Linux Device Mapper driver support for mutlipath I/O on devices. (NCP is not required to make this work.) |
|
Software RAID support |
RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1, and 5+1. |
RAID 0, 1, 4, 5 and 6. RAID 0+1 can be created using the Linux mdadm(8) command as a complex RAID using the RAID 0+1 option, or as a nested RAID. |
|
Pool snapshot (retain point-in-time version of a pool using block-level copy on write) |
Yes, using iManager, NSSMU, or NLVM command line interface. Snapshots of cluster-enabled pools is not supported. |
Depends on the file system. NLVM supports device snapshots for the devices it manages. (NCP is not required to make this work.) |
|
Hard links |
Yes; enhanced hard links support is available in OES 2 and later. For information, see Section 25.0, Managing Hard Links. |
Yes |
|
Backup support |
Yes, using Novell Storage Management Services for Linux. For information, see Section 27.0, Managing Backup and Restore for Data and Trustee Information. |
Yes. You can use SMS. For more information, see POSIX File System Support. |
|
Data migration from NSS volumes on NetWare |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Novell Archive and Version Services |
No |
No |
|
Novell Distributed File Services For information, see the OES 2015 SP1: Novell Distributed File Services Administration Guide for Linux. |
Yes, for OES 2 and later. NSS volumes on OES 2015 can contain junctions or be a junction target. NSS volumes on OES 1 can be a junction target, but junctions are not supported in the volume. |
Only as targets of junctions in OES 2 and later. DFS does not support junctions on NCP volumes. |
|
Dynamic Storage Technology For information, see the OES 2015 SP1: Dynamic Storage Technology Administration Guide. |
Yes |
Not available. |
|
Novell Cluster Services for Linux For information, see the OES 2015 SP1: Novell Cluster Services for Linux Administration Guide. |
Yes For information, see |
Yes; cluster the Linux POSIX file system, then create the NCP volume on it. For information, see You can NCP enable the clustered Linux volume as you create it by using NSSMU or the 'nlvm create linux volume' command. For information, see |
|
Auditing |
Yes |
No |
|
Novell Transaction Tracking System (TTS) |
No |
Use the Journal mode for Linux POSIX file systems that support journaling. |
|
Operating system version detection |
Default process |
Default process |
|
Device maintenance support |
Activate and deactivate devices by pool. |
Activate and deactivate devices using Linux tools. |
|
Cache balancing for NSS cache buffers |
You can specify a minimum cache buffer size. For information, see Tuning NSS Performance. |
Integrated with the Linux file system cache. |
|
CD and DVD device recognition |
No; not managed by NSS. Use Linux services to mount CDs and DVDs as Linux volumes. |
Yes, default |
|
Ability to access DOS partitions as on a NetWare server |
No; not managed by NSS. Use Linux services instead. |
Yes, using Linux services. |
|
Default mount location for NSS volumes |
/media/nss/volumename |
Not applicable. |
|
Interface |
64-bit |
64-bit |
|
Character format |
Unicode |
UTF-8 |
|
Maximum device size recognized (physical or logical) |
8 TB for NSS32 pools and 8 EB for NSS64 pools. NSS management tools recognize devices up to 8 EB, and support both the GPT and DOS partitioning schemes. For use in an NSS pool, the maximum device sizes supported are: 8 TB (GPT) for NSS32 Pools 8 EB (GPT) for NSS64 Pools 2 TB (DOS) for NSS32 and NSS64 pools |
For a 64-bit OS:
|
|
Maximum software RAID size (combined total of all member segments) |
8 TB (GPT) for NSS32 Pools 8 EB (GPT) for NSS64 Pools 2 TB (DOS) for NSS32 and NSS64 pools NOTE:The pools are currently limited to 8 TB for NSS32 and 8 EB for NSS64, RAID1 sizes for pool objects are also limited to 8 TB or 8 EB depending on the pool type. |
See Maximum device size recognized. |
|
Minimum software RAID segment size |
12 MB per segment |
Depends on the file system. |
|
Maximum partition size |
8 TB for NSS32 and 8 EB for NSS64 pools Valid Range: 12 MB to 8 TB for NSS32 pools, and 12 MB to 8 EB for NSS64 pools NOTE:The Maximum segment size corresponds only to GPT partition. If all devices are partitioned using DOS, the size limits to 2 TB. |
Up to 16 TB or 16 EB, depending on the file system and block size as noted above. |
|
Maximum number of partitions (logical or physical devices) per pool |
No practical limit |
Not applicable. |
|
Maximum pool size |
8 TB for NSS32 pools (using 4 or more partitions of up to 2 TB each and if device is partitioned with GPT which is of >=8 TB size you can have a pool of 8 TB with single partition only) 8 EB for NSS64 pools |
Up to the partition size, depending on the file system. |
|
Minimum pool size |
12 MB for both NSS32 and NSS64 pools. |
Not applicable. |
|
Maximum size of a volume |
Up to 8 TB or 8 EB, depending on the pool size, pool type and available space in the pool. Volume quotas can be overbooked. For information, see Section 19.2, Guidelines for NSS Volumes. |
Up to the partition size, depending on the file system. |
|
Maximum file size |
Up to 8 TB or 8 EB, depending on the volume size, pool type, and available space in the volume. |
2 GB to 2 TB for Ext2 or Ext3, depending on the block size. Up to 8 TB for Reiser. Up to 8 EB (minus 1 Byte) for XFS Up to 8 EB for Btrfs (due to Linux kernel limit) |
|
Maximum number of files per volume (In practice, how many files be managed is limited only by the file browser’s and application’s ability to list and access the files.) |
Up to 8 trillion (10E12), regardless of how many name spaces are loaded. Up to 4 billion (10E9) files in a single directory. |
Up to 8 trillion (10E12), regardless of how many name spaces are loaded. |
|
Maximum number of files open concurrently |
1 million (10E6) |
Millions (10E6), depending on the file system |
|
Maximum number of volumes per server |
Unlimited NSS data volumes, but only 255 can be mounted at a time |
Unlimited |
|
Time to mount a volume |
Requires only a few seconds NSS uses a journaling file system and does not need to scan the entire file system to create a directory entry table (DET) and to load a File Allocation Table (FAT). |
Depends on the file system; from a few seconds to a few minutes. |
|
Time to repair corrupted volume |
Up to several hours, depending on the volume size. |
Up to several hours, depending on the volume size |