Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Suggestions for backup scheme?

["J. Roeleveld" <joost@antarean.org>]

On Thursday, February 8, 2024 6:36:56 PM CET Wols Lists wrote:
> On 08/02/2024 06:32, J. Roeleveld wrote:
> >> After all, there's nothing stopping*you*  from combining Linux and ZFS,
> >> it's just that somebody else can't do that for you, and then give you
> >> the resulting binary.
> > 
> > Linux (kernel) and ZFS can't be merged. Fine.
> 
> But they can.

Not if you want to release it

> > But, Linux (the OS, as in, kernel + userspace) and ZFS can be merged
> > legally.
> Likewise here, they can.
> 
> The problem is, the BINARY can NOT be distributed. And the problem is
> the ZFS licence, not Linux.

You can distribute the binary of both, just not embedded into a single binary.

> What Linus, and the kernel devs, and that crowd *think* is irrelevant.

It is, as they are actively working on removing API calls that filesystems like 
ZFS actually need and hiding them behind a GPL wall.

> What matters is what SUSE, and Red Hat, and Canonical et al think. And
> if they're not prepared to take the risk of distributing the kernel with
> ZFS built in, because they think it's a legal minefield, then that's
> THEIR decision.

I'm not talking about distributing ZFS embedded into the kernel. It's 
perfectly fine to distribute a distribution with ZFS as a kernel module. The 
issue is caused by the linux kernel devs blocking access to (previously 
existing and open) API calls and limiting them to GPL only.

> That problem doesn't apply to gentoo, because it distributes the linux
> kernel and ZFS separately, and combines them ON THE USER'S MACHINE. But
> the big distros are not prepared to take the risk of combining linux and
> ZFS, and distributing the resulting *derived* *work*.

I would class Ubuntu as a big distribution and proxmox is also used a lot.
Both have ZFS support.

--
Joost