This season, we look back on essentials like optimizing ZFS pool setups, tackling common benchmarking mistakes, and exploring the new Block Reference Table feature in OpenZFS 2.2. For FreeBSD users, we take a closer look at bhyve, firewall comparisons, and best practices for maintaining a FreeBSD NAS. Whether you're managing storage or virtual machines, these reads are packed with practical advice to keep you informed and inspired. 

OpenZFS

Understanding ZFS vdev Types 

The most common category of ZFS questions is “how should I set up my pool?” Sometimes the question ends “... using the drives I already have” and sometimes it ends with “and how many drives should I buy." Either way, the article OpenZFS – Understanding ZFS vdev Types can help you make sense of your options. 

5 Reasons Why Your ZFS Storage Benchmarks Are Wrong 

ZFS benchmarking is challenging because it requires careful consideration of the many different aspects of modern computer storage systems. In this article, we highlight five of the most common mistakes that lead to inaccurate or misleading ZFS benchmarks. Learn about this complex process in 5 Reasons Why Your ZFS Storage Benchmarks Are Wrong. 

Accelerating ZFS with Copy Offloading: BRT 

 OpenZFS 2.2 introduces the Block Reference Table (BRT) feature, a game-changer for efficient file cloning and deduplication of storage. Unlike traditional deduplication methods that often slow down write performance, BRT leverages a streamlined approach to copy identical blocks seamlessly, offering a significant performance boost for OpenZFS users. In Accelerating ZFS with Copy Offloading: BRT we examined how to make use of this new feature and some workloads where it can benefit your organization. 

Honorable Mention: Setting up a ZFS pool involves a number of permanent decisions that will affect the performance, cost, and reliability of your data storage systems, so you really want to understand all the options at your disposal for making the right choices from the beginning. Let’s talk about mirror vdevs, RAID-Z or dRAID to better understand real redundant data storage. Recently updated, Choosing the Right ZFS Pool Layout is a classic worth revisiting. 

FreeBSD

From 0 to Bhyve on FreeBSD 13.1 

Seeing a rise in popularity over the past year, Bhyve is FreeBSD’s go-to hypervisor. Offering near-native performance for virtual machines, it’s an increasingly competitive alternative to Linux’s KVM. 

Bhyve enables the creation and maintenance of virtual machines—aka “guests”—which run at near-native speed alongside the host operating system. Although bhyve got a later start than Linux KVM, in most ways it has caught up with its primary rival—and in some ways surpassed it. Read From 0 to Bhyve on FreeBSD 13.1 to have a shiny new FreeBSD 13.1 system that runs VMs with operating systems. 

Part 1 and Part 2 of the FreeBSD Firewall Series 

Choosing the right firewall for your operating system can be daunting, especially with the variety of options available for Linux and FreeBSD. In this article, we’ll explore four of the most widely used firewalls—iptables, nftables, ipfw, and pf—offering insights to help you decide which one is best suited for your needs. Read Part 1 and Part 2 of the firewall series. 

Open Source FreeBSD NAS: Maintenance Best Practices 

Finally, Part 4: Open Source FreeBSD NAS: Maintenance Best Practices (the final article in a four part series) is new on the Klara blog. A well-maintained open source FreeBSD NAS can run flawlessly for years, but like any appliance, it requires routine care to ensure longevity and performance. Just as regular oil changes are essential for your car, proactive maintenance on your NAS—such as checking storage health and performing system updates—can prevent long-term issues. 

To round out your NAS knowledge, be sure to check out Parts 1 through 3 in the series, covering everything from initial setup to advanced configurations. 

Part 1: Building Freebsd-Based NAS with ZFS 

Part 2: Tuning Your FreeBSD Configuration for Your NAS 

Part 3: Configuring Your FreeBSD NAS: NFS, Samba, and iSCSI 

Happy Reading this Fall! 

With these fall holiday reads, you’ll gain practical knowledge for maintaining and optimizing your OpenZFS and FreeBSD systems. From foundational setups to advanced features like BRT in OpenZFS 2.2, these articles offer insights to support your infrastructure. Keep an eye out for new content and upcoming webinars! 

From the team at Klara—enjoy the season!