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    Why ZFS?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • G
      gus642
      last edited by

      I've been wondering if I should use ZFS for my pfSense setup. I've been using UFS for the past 10 years or so (since v1 something) and that has been working fine. Currently on 2.6. What are the pro's and con's of changing?

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      • N
        nimrod @gus642
        last edited by

        @gus642

        Better data integrity.

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        • S
          SteveITS Galactic Empire @gus642
          last edited by

          @gus642 ZFS should be better at handling power cuts.

          https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/install/install-walkthrough.html#partition-filesystem-selection

          If using Plus it allows for Boot Environments which has some perks like being able to revert versions (permanently or temporarily), revert a failed upgrade by pulling power (to reboot back to the configured BE...find the Netgate YouTube video) etc.

          The main "cons" are the ZFS ARC cache will use available RAM (and give it up when needed), and that you need to reinstall and restore from backup to convert.

          Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
          When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
          Upvote ๐Ÿ‘ helpful posts!

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          • S
            SteveITS Galactic Empire @SteveITS
            last edited by

            Meant to add, I think the BE/snapshots can be done via the command line in pfSense CE. Pretty sure I saw a post from Netgate about that at one point.

            Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
            When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
            Upvote ๐Ÿ‘ helpful posts!

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