QFS

QFS
Full name	Quick File System
Limits
Max file size	8 EiB
Max no. of files	4.1 billion per filesystem
Other
Supported; operating systems	OpenSolaris ; Linux (client only)

QFS (Quick File System) is a filesystem from Oracle. It is tightly integrated with SAM, the Storage and Archive Manager, and hence is often referred to as SAM-QFS. SAM provides the functionality of a hierarchical storage manager.

Features

QFS supports some volume management capabilities, allowing many disks to be grouped together into a file system. File system metadata can be kept on a separate set of disks, which is useful for streaming applications where long disk seeks cannot be tolerated.

SAM extends the QFS file system transparently to archival storage. A SAM-QFS file system may have a relatively small (gigabytes to terabytes) "disk cache" backed by petabytes of tape or other bulk storage. Files are copied to archival storage in the background, and transparently retrieved to disk when accessed. SAM-QFS supports up to four archival copies, each of which can be on disk, tape, optical media, or may be stored at a remote site also running SAM-QFS.

Shared QFS adds a multi-writer global filesystem, allowing multiple machines to read from & write to the same disks concurrently through the use of multi-ported disks or a storage area network. (QFS also has a single-writer/multi-reader mode which can be used to share disks between hosts without the need for a network connection.)

History

SAM-QFS was designed and implemented at Large Storage Systems (LSC).^[3] The lead architect of SAM-QFS was Harriet Coverston, the founder and VP of Technology at LSC.^[4] LSC and SAM-QFS were purchased by Sun in 2001.^[5] Sun released the SAM-QFS source code to the OpenSolaris project in March 2008.^[6] After Oracle acquired Sun, Oracle continued to develop the SAM-QFS product. Later Oracle renamed SAM-QFS to Oracle HSM (Oracle Hierarchical Storage Manager).^[7] In 2014 Versity, a storage startup co-founded by SAM-QFS lead architect Coverston, released the Versity Storage Manager (VSM), a Linux-based HSM based on the SAM-QFS code.^[3] Oracle announced 2019 the end of life to 2021, Versity shows an migration path. ^[8]

References

^ "Sun QFS File System 5.3 Configuration and Administration Guide".
^ "SAM-QFS 5.3 What Works With What".
^ ^a ^b Mellor, Chris (21 June 2016). "New storage upstart Versity offers S3 object storage interface". The Register. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
^ "Harriet Coverston". Retrieved 22 February 2020.
^ Vance, Ashlee (14 May 2001). "Sun sharpens focus on one-stop storage". Computer World. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
^ SAM/QFS at OpenSolaris.org
^ Announcing Oracle Hierarchical Storage Manager
^ Versity and Spectra Logic: The Path Forward for SAM-QFS and Oracle's HSM Replacement

External links

Oracle Hierarchical Storage Manger (Oracle HSM) and StorageTek Storage Archive Manager (SAM-QFS) wiki at the Wayback Machine (archived 2015-05-18)
Current SAM/QFS information at archive.today (archived 2014-09-02)
OpenSolaris SAM/QFS Project Page at the Wayback Machine (archived 2008-12-19)

LibSAM for Sun StorageTek SAM and QFS: Beyond Backup at the Wayback Machine (archived 2015-03-30)

[1] "Sun QFS File System 5.3 Configuration and Administration Guide".

[2] "SAM-QFS 5.3 What Works With What".

[register-3] Mellor, Chris (21 June 2016). "New storage upstart Versity offers S3 object storage interface". The Register. Retrieved 21 February 2020.

[sandia-4] "Harriet Coverston". Retrieved 22 February 2020.

[cw-5] Vance, Ashlee (14 May 2001). "Sun sharpens focus on one-stop storage". Computer World. Retrieved 22 February 2020.

[6] SAM/QFS at OpenSolaris.org

[7] Announcing Oracle Hierarchical Storage Manager

[8] Versity and Spectra Logic: The Path Forward for SAM-QFS and Oracle's HSM Replacement

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