'Unbreakable' Oracle Linux 9 is a RHEL rebuild with built-in Btrfs support
(2022/07/12)
- Reference: 1657623605
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/07/12/oracle_linux_9/
- Source link:
Oracle Linux 9 is out and has some interesting differences from the other Red Hat relatives.
The version was [1]released at the end of June, marking an unusually long gap from Red Hat's [2]announcement of RHEL 9 the month before. For comparison, the [3]beta of AlmaLinux 9 came just three days after RHEL 9's official availability on May 17, and the final version [4]followed within a week.
A similar delay seems to be affecting Rocky Linux as well. Nearly a month after Red Hat's [5]announcement of RHEL 9, the Rocky Linux team [6]tweeted that Rocky 9 was coming soon.
[7]
Oracle's [8]release notes reveal an interesting change. Under the heading "Package Changes from the Upstream Release", the second item in the [9]list is btrfs-progs . Given that Red Hat explicitly [10]no longer supports Btrfs in RHEL , this is unexpected.
[11]
[12]
Oracle supplies a choice of kernels with Oracle Linux, along with [13]documentation on how to switch between them. One is called the "Red Hat Compatibility Kernel" (RHCK) and the other the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK), which is Oracle's modified build of the kernel. If you need strict RHEL compatibility – the target that [14]AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux provide – then RHCK is identical to the kernel in RHEL, just as CentOS Linux [15]used to be . UEK is something different and, among other things, includes Btrfs support.
[16]x86 Raspberry Pi Desktop is a great way to revive an old PC
[17]Russian Debian-derivative Linux slinger plans IPO
[18]Systemd supremo Lennart Poettering leaves Red Hat for Microsoft
[19]Tuxedo Pulse G2: Linux in your lap
To be clear, this isn't something that has just appeared. Oracle Linux supported Btrfs as far back as [20]version 6 – but back then, RHEL supported it too. Btrfs was removed from RHEL version 7.4 onward, so what is interesting is that Oracle has kept it in [21]version 8 and subsequent releases.
Given that Oracle acquired Sun and its Solaris OS, and [22]still offers it , you might reasonably expect that if Oracle were to add an advanced file system to its Linux, it would be Solaris's ZFS, presumably in its [23]Linux incarnation as OpenZFS . Not so: although it is [24]possible to add OpenZFS to RHEL-family distros, it requires adding an external repository.
The CentOS Stream project also recently [25]announced a new head of its [26]Hyperscale Special Interest Group (SIG). Hyperscale users are those deploying CentOS Stream onto very large numbers of servers at once – think large social network companies, for instance. In this announcement too, there's mention of Btrfs:
The brtfs-progs package was updated to 5.16.2 on both CentOS Stream 8 and CentOS Stream 9.
As The Reg has [27]reported before , one notable [28]large user of Btrfs is Facebook .
Red Hat is working on a next-gen Rust-based storage management tool called [29]Stratis . Development has been under way since 2016, and preliminary support appeared in Fedora 29 in [30]2018 and CentOS 8 in [31]2019 . Connecting the dots and extrapolating a little here, The Reg FOSS desk wonders if [32]support for Btrfs in Fedora 33 and now in CentOS Stream might have bad implications about how well Stratis is progressing. ®
Get our [33]Tech Resources
[1] https://blogs.oracle.com/linux/post/announcing-oracle-linux-9-general-availability
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/10/red_hat_enterprise_linux_9/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/20/almalinux_9_beta/
[4] https://almalinux.org/blog/almalinux-9-now-available/
[5] https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/red-hat-defines-new-epicenter-innovation-red-hat-enterprise-linux-9
[6] https://twitter.com/rocky_linux/status/1534398614654439424
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Ys2amT3ztl12NTtWxhv78wAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[8] https://docs.oracle.com/en/operating-systems/oracle-linux/9/relnotes9.0/
[9] https://docs.oracle.com/en/operating-systems/oracle-linux/9/relnotes9.0/ol9-pkg-appendix.html#ol9-packages-binary
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2017/08/16/red_hat_banishes_btrfs_from_rhel/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Ys2amT3ztl12NTtWxhv78wAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Ys2amT3ztl12NTtWxhv78wAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://docs.oracle.com/en/learn/oracle-linux-kernels/#background
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/18/rhel_86_and_rocky_and_alma/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/09/centos_red_hat/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/11/raspberry_pi_desktop_update/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/09/russian_debianderivative_vendor_plans_ipo/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/07/lennart_poettering_red_hat_microsoft/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/05/tuxedo_pulse_g3_laptop/
[20] https://blogs.oracle.com/linux/post/btrfs-on-the-unbreakable-enterprise-kernel-6
[21] https://docs.oracle.com/en/learn/btrfs-ol8/index.html
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/04/solaris_common_build_environments_free/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/01/zfs_on_linux_now_openzfs/
[24] https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/Getting%20Started/RHEL-based%20distro/index.html
[25] https://blog.centos.org/2022/07/centos-hyperscale-sig-quarterly-report-for-2022q2/
[26] https://wiki.centos.org/SpecialInterestGroup/Hyperscale
[27] https://www.theregister.com/2017/10/23/facebook_hates_docker_and_kubernetes/
[28] https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/01/facebook_linux_tools_free/
[29] https://stratis-storage.github.io/
[30] https://www.marksei.com/fedora-29-new-features-startis/
[31] https://computingforgeeks.com/install-and-use-stratis-to-manage-local-storage-on-rhel-8/
[32] https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/02/fedora_33_beta/
[33] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The version was [1]released at the end of June, marking an unusually long gap from Red Hat's [2]announcement of RHEL 9 the month before. For comparison, the [3]beta of AlmaLinux 9 came just three days after RHEL 9's official availability on May 17, and the final version [4]followed within a week.
A similar delay seems to be affecting Rocky Linux as well. Nearly a month after Red Hat's [5]announcement of RHEL 9, the Rocky Linux team [6]tweeted that Rocky 9 was coming soon.
[7]
Oracle's [8]release notes reveal an interesting change. Under the heading "Package Changes from the Upstream Release", the second item in the [9]list is btrfs-progs . Given that Red Hat explicitly [10]no longer supports Btrfs in RHEL , this is unexpected.
[11]
[12]
Oracle supplies a choice of kernels with Oracle Linux, along with [13]documentation on how to switch between them. One is called the "Red Hat Compatibility Kernel" (RHCK) and the other the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK), which is Oracle's modified build of the kernel. If you need strict RHEL compatibility – the target that [14]AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux provide – then RHCK is identical to the kernel in RHEL, just as CentOS Linux [15]used to be . UEK is something different and, among other things, includes Btrfs support.
[16]x86 Raspberry Pi Desktop is a great way to revive an old PC
[17]Russian Debian-derivative Linux slinger plans IPO
[18]Systemd supremo Lennart Poettering leaves Red Hat for Microsoft
[19]Tuxedo Pulse G2: Linux in your lap
To be clear, this isn't something that has just appeared. Oracle Linux supported Btrfs as far back as [20]version 6 – but back then, RHEL supported it too. Btrfs was removed from RHEL version 7.4 onward, so what is interesting is that Oracle has kept it in [21]version 8 and subsequent releases.
Given that Oracle acquired Sun and its Solaris OS, and [22]still offers it , you might reasonably expect that if Oracle were to add an advanced file system to its Linux, it would be Solaris's ZFS, presumably in its [23]Linux incarnation as OpenZFS . Not so: although it is [24]possible to add OpenZFS to RHEL-family distros, it requires adding an external repository.
The CentOS Stream project also recently [25]announced a new head of its [26]Hyperscale Special Interest Group (SIG). Hyperscale users are those deploying CentOS Stream onto very large numbers of servers at once – think large social network companies, for instance. In this announcement too, there's mention of Btrfs:
The brtfs-progs package was updated to 5.16.2 on both CentOS Stream 8 and CentOS Stream 9.
As The Reg has [27]reported before , one notable [28]large user of Btrfs is Facebook .
Red Hat is working on a next-gen Rust-based storage management tool called [29]Stratis . Development has been under way since 2016, and preliminary support appeared in Fedora 29 in [30]2018 and CentOS 8 in [31]2019 . Connecting the dots and extrapolating a little here, The Reg FOSS desk wonders if [32]support for Btrfs in Fedora 33 and now in CentOS Stream might have bad implications about how well Stratis is progressing. ®
Get our [33]Tech Resources
[1] https://blogs.oracle.com/linux/post/announcing-oracle-linux-9-general-availability
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/10/red_hat_enterprise_linux_9/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/20/almalinux_9_beta/
[4] https://almalinux.org/blog/almalinux-9-now-available/
[5] https://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/red-hat-defines-new-epicenter-innovation-red-hat-enterprise-linux-9
[6] https://twitter.com/rocky_linux/status/1534398614654439424
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Ys2amT3ztl12NTtWxhv78wAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[8] https://docs.oracle.com/en/operating-systems/oracle-linux/9/relnotes9.0/
[9] https://docs.oracle.com/en/operating-systems/oracle-linux/9/relnotes9.0/ol9-pkg-appendix.html#ol9-packages-binary
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2017/08/16/red_hat_banishes_btrfs_from_rhel/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Ys2amT3ztl12NTtWxhv78wAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Ys2amT3ztl12NTtWxhv78wAAABM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://docs.oracle.com/en/learn/oracle-linux-kernels/#background
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/18/rhel_86_and_rocky_and_alma/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/09/centos_red_hat/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/11/raspberry_pi_desktop_update/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/09/russian_debianderivative_vendor_plans_ipo/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/07/lennart_poettering_red_hat_microsoft/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/05/tuxedo_pulse_g3_laptop/
[20] https://blogs.oracle.com/linux/post/btrfs-on-the-unbreakable-enterprise-kernel-6
[21] https://docs.oracle.com/en/learn/btrfs-ol8/index.html
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/04/solaris_common_build_environments_free/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/01/zfs_on_linux_now_openzfs/
[24] https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/Getting%20Started/RHEL-based%20distro/index.html
[25] https://blog.centos.org/2022/07/centos-hyperscale-sig-quarterly-report-for-2022q2/
[26] https://wiki.centos.org/SpecialInterestGroup/Hyperscale
[27] https://www.theregister.com/2017/10/23/facebook_hates_docker_and_kubernetes/
[28] https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/01/facebook_linux_tools_free/
[29] https://stratis-storage.github.io/
[30] https://www.marksei.com/fedora-29-new-features-startis/
[31] https://computingforgeeks.com/install-and-use-stratis-to-manage-local-storage-on-rhel-8/
[32] https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/02/fedora_33_beta/
[33] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Stratis
VoiceOfTruth
ZFS checksums at the block level. I don't know what btrfs does.
Yeah, but it's Oracle...
DJV
I will therefore avoid it like the plague.
Re: Yeah, but it's Oracle...
seven of five
Which makes it a good match to BTRFS
Re: Yeah, but it's Oracle...
VoiceOfTruth
Larry is really worried about that.
karlkarl
I honestly would have thought that Oracle would be pushing ZFS more.
"The only ZFS on Linux install with 100% guaranteed license compliance for when our auditors come knocking"
A slogan with a nice happy feel to it.
VoiceOfTruth
If the Linux kernel had a better licence this would be possible.
Anonymous Coward
That really wouldn't work: Oracle does not control OpenZFS, it's not under a license they're themselves using, and everything added ever since it was forked is not code under their copyright.
Pushing it would mean Oracle handling two different, incompatible versions of ZFS. Commercially supporting OpenZFS would need a wholly separate team than for Solaris ZFS, and continually ensure that proprietary code is not leaked under the CDDL by mistake.
Big headed!
BPontius
The arrogance about Linux security is off the charts!
iron
> The Reg FOSS desk wonders if support for Btrfs in Fedora 33 and now in CentOS Stream might have bad implications about how well Stratis is progressing. ®
A storage management tool and a storage format are completely different things. That's like saying a secretary and a filing cabinet are the same thing, or the journalist who wrote this piece and the file they wrote it in are the same thing.
Stratis
Stratis is little more than another management layer on top of XFS. It lacks many of the features that make BTRFS and ZFS interesting, such as checksumming at file level (which Stratis can't do).
On the other hand, BTRFS has been the default file system for SUSE Linux Enterprise since I believe back in version 12 or so, fully supported.
Not sure Stratis will ever become a big thing.