E.0 Comparison of NSS on NetWare and NSS on Linux

This section compares features and capabilities of Novell Storage Services on NetWare 6.5 SP8 and Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 SP3 Linux servers.

Feature Description

NSS for NetWare 6.5 SP8

NSS for OES 2 SP3 Linux

Management interfaces

Novell iManager

Novell iManager

NSSMU for NetWare

NSSMU for Linux

EVMS (evmsgui)

Utilities in the server console (NSSMU, RIGHTS, FLAG)

Utilities in the terminal console (NSSMU, RIGHTS, NSSCON, ATTRIB, RAVSUI, RAVVIEW, quota, nssraid, ncsinit, nbackup(1))

RIGHTS in the server console

NSS commands in the NSS Console (NSSCON)

Novell Remote Manager for NetWare

Novell Remote Manager for Linux (for Dynamic Storage Technology shadow volumes and for managing NCP Server connections to NSS volumes)

Novell NetStorage for NetWare

Novell NetStorage for Linux

File system trustees, trustee rights, and inherited rights filter to control access to directories and files

Files and Folders plug-in to iManager

Files and Folders plug-in to iManager

Novell Remote Manager for NetWare

 

Novell NetStorage for NetWare (via Web browser only, not WebDAV)

Novell NetStorage for Linux (via Web browser only, not WebDAV)

Novell Client

Novell Client

RIGHTS utility for NetWare

RIGHTS utility for Linux

File system directory and file attributes to control functions available for directories and files

Files and Folders plug-in to iManager

Novell NetStorage for NetWare

Novell Client

Novell Remote Manager for NetWare

Files and Folders plug-in to iManager

Novell NetStorage for Linux

Novell Client

Directory quotas management (requires the Directory Quotas attribute for the volume)

Files and Folders plug-in to iManager

Novell NetStorage for NetWare

Novell Remote Manager for NetWare

Files and Folders plug-in to iManager

Novell NetStorage for Linux

User space quota management (requires the User Space Quotas attribute for the volume)

Storage plug-in to Novell iManager

Storage plug-in to Novell iManager (OES 1 SP1 and later)

Default mount location for NSS pools

Not applicable

/opt/novell/nss/mnt/.pools/poolname

Default mount location for NSS volumes

Server root

/media/nss/volumename

Default mount location for devices managed by EVMS

Not applicable

/dev/evms/

File system type (as recognized and reported by the operating system)

nss

nssvol

File access protocols

NCP

Native File Access Protocols (AFP, CIFS, and NFS)

NCP

Novell AFP for Linux (beginning in OES 2 SP1)

Novell CIFS for Linux (beginning in OES 2 SP1)

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 enabled.

Interface

64-bit

64-bit

Character format

Unicode

Unicode

Maximum device size recognized (physical or logical)

2 TB

2 TB

Maximum software RAID device size (combined total for all member segments)

2 TB

2 TB

Minimum software RAID segment size

12 MB per segment

12 MB per segment

Maximum partition size

2 TB

Valid Range: 10 MB to 2 TB

2 TB

Valid Range: 10 MB to 2 TB

Maximum number of partitions per pool

No practical limit

No practical limit

Maximum pool size (created by using at least 4 partitions of up to 2 TB each)

8 TB

8 TB

Minimum pool size

10 MB

10 MB

Maximum size of a volume

Up to 8 TB, depending on the pool size and available space in the pool.

Up to 8 TB, depending on the pool size and available space in the pool.

Maximum file size

Up to 8 TB, depending on the volume size and available space in the volume.

Up to 8 TB, depending on the volume size and available space in the volume.

Maximum number of files per volume

Up to 8 trillion, regardless of how many name spaces are loaded.

NOTE:NSS can support this. You are limited by the browser and application ability, of course.

Up to 8 trillion, regardless of how many name spaces are loaded.

NOTE:NSS can support this. You are limited by the browser and application ability, of course.

Maximum number of files open concurrently

1 million

1 million

Maximum number of volumes per server

255 plus the sys: volume.

You can mount NSS volumes beyond 256, but they are not visible or accessible through the normal Netware APIs.

No practical limit on the number of NSS data volumes.

Time to mount a volume

Requires only a few seconds, thanks to journaling.

Requires only a few seconds, thanks to journaling.

Volume name space

Accommodates all name spaces (DOS, Macintosh, Long, and UNIX). Long is the default name space.

In OES 1 SP1 and later, the Lookup Name Space attribute allows you to set the default name space used when mounting volumes.

Directory names and filenames are case insensitive.

Accommodates all name spaces (DOS, Macintosh, Long, and UNIX). Long is the default name space.

The Lookup Name Space attribute allows you to set the default name space used when mounting volumes.

Directory names and filenames are case insensitive with the Long name space.

Minimum server memory required to activate a volume

Requires only 4 MB available RAM to activate a single volume of any size and any number of files. Loads a file’s metadata into memory only as you access the file.

Requires only 4 MB available RAM to activate a single volume of any size and any number of files. Loads a file’s metadata into memory only as you access the file.

File access time

Same for each file, regardless of its location on the volume.

Same for each file, regardless of its location on the volume.

Error correction and data recovery time on system failure

Journaling file system logs changes.

On system failure, replays the most recent transactions to confirm validity, then repairs errors or rolls back to the original condition, typically in 15 to 60 seconds, unless the volume is corrupted.

Journaling file system logs changes.

On system failure, replays the most recent transactions to confirm validity, then repairs errors or rolls back to the original condition, typically in 15 to 60 seconds, unless the volume is corrupted.

Repair of corrupted pools and volume

Ongoing journaling of the file system; if the pool metadata structure is corrupted, use the NSS verify and rebuild functions.

Ongoing journaling of the file system; if the pool metadata structure is corrupted, use the RAVSUI utility to verify and rebuild the volume.

Time to repair corrupted volume

From a few seconds to several hours, depending on the volume size.

From a few seconds to several hours, depending on the volume size.

Multiple connection paths to storage media

Yes, Media Manager multipath I/O

Use a native Linux multiple path I/O solution.

Software RAID support

RAID 0 (striping)

RAID 1 (mirroring)

RAID 5 (striping with parity)

RAID 0+1 (mirroring RAID 0 devices)

RAID 5+1 (mirroring RAID 5 devices)

RAID 0 (striping)

RAID 1 (mirroring)

RAID 5 (striping with parity)

For OES 2 SP2 and later, NSSMU supports:

RAID 0+1 (mirroring RAID 0 devices)

RAID 5+1 (mirroring RAID 5 devices)

Volume encryption

Yes

Yes, for OES 1 SP1 and later

You must mount encrypted volumes only from NSSMU on the first mount after a system reboot so that you can enter the password. The NSSCON utility does not support entering a password from the command line.

Data shredding

Yes, up to 7 times

Yes, up to 7 times

File compression

Yes

Yes

Data migration

Yes

Yes

Directory quotas

Yes

Yes

User space quotas (user space restrictions)

Yes

Yes, for OES 1 SP1 and later

Salvage or purge deleted files, directories, or volumes

Yes

Yes

Transaction Tracking System (TTS)

Yes

Not supported.

If you need content tracking and trustee support, use NCP volumes on Linux reiser, XFS, or ext3 file systems, then set the file system’s journaling mode to the Journaling option.

Read ahead blocks

Yes

Yes

File save time

Provides the Flush Files Immediately attribute for NSS volumes to write files to disk on save instead of waiting for the next disk write cycle. This helps prevent possible data loss between disk write cycles.

Provides the group write options and timers. For information, see Section 27.3, Configuring or Tuning Group I/O.

File-level snapshot

(make a temporary snapshot copy of an open file for backup)

Yes

No

Modified File List

Yes

Yes

Pool snapshot

(retain point-in-time version of a pool using block-level copy on write)

Yes; allows backup of block-level changes only, without deactivating the volume.

Uses a brief freeze-release process to capture information for last remaining open files.

Yes, for OES 2 Linux and later.

The stored-on pool must be on a separate partition.

Pool snapshots are not supported for clustered NSS pools on Linux.

Backup systems support

OES 2 SP3: Storage Management Services Administration Guide for Linux

NW 6.5 SP8: SBCON Administration Guide

OES 2 SP3: Storage Management Services Administration Guide for Linux

For an overview of backup resources on Linux, see Section 26.0, Managing Backup and Restore for Data and Trustee Information.

Distributed File Services for moving and splitting NSS volumes

Yes

Yes, for OES 2 Linux and later

Novell Archive and Version Services

Yes

Yes, for OES 2 Linux and later

Device maintenance support

Activate and deactivate devices by pool.

Activate and deactivate devices by pool.

CD and DVD device recognition

Automatic process with full support for UDF, ISO 9660, and Macintosh HFS formats.

Use CDs and DVDs as read-only NSS volumes.

No; use Linux POSIX file system options instead.

CD and DVD image files

Activate as read-only NSS volumes.

No; use Linux POSIX file system options instead.

Ability to access DOS partitions on the NetWare server

Load dosfat.nss to treat the partition as a standard NSS volume

No; use Native Linux file system options instead.

Operating system version detection

Default process

Default process

Cache balancing for NSS cache buffers

Yes; for information, see Tuning NSS Performance on NetWare.

Yes; for information, see Tuning NSS Performance on Linux.

Tuning I/O write behavior

Set I/O tuning parameters for NSS on NetWare. For information, see Setting the File and Buffer Flush Timers.

Set group I/O write parameters for NSS on Linux. For information, see Configuring or Tuning Group I/O.

Dynamic Storage Technology (DST)

For information about NSS volume attributes and features that are supported in DST shadow volumes, see Using NSS Volumes in DST Shadow Volumes in the OES 2 SP3: Dynamic Storage Technology Administration Guide.

DST supports using NetWare iSCSI target devices to store NSS volumes in the shadow volume pair. The target devices are attached to the OES 2 Linux server by using the Linux iSCSI initiator software.

For information, see iSCSI Block Storage Devices in the OES 2 SP3: Dynamic Storage Technology Administration Guide.

DST supports NSS volumes on OES 2 Linux servers as the primary or secondary volume in the shadow volume.

For information, see the OES 2 SP3: Dynamic Storage Technology Administration Guide.