While discussing Linux kernel schedulers, user Jonathan Danti complained that changes to the kernel broke an important third-party module, ZFS. Here is what Torvalds wrote in response:
Keep in mind that "we don't break users" applies to user-space programs and the kernel that I maintain. If you add a third party module like ZFS then you are on your own. I am unable to support such modules and am not responsible for their support.
And frankly, I don't see any chance of getting ZFS into the kernel until I get an official communication from Oracle, certified by their General Counsel or, best of all, by Larry Ellison himself, saying everything is OK and ZFS is now under GPL.
Some people think it's not a bad idea to add ZFS code to the kernel, and that the module's interface handles it just fine. Well, that's their opinion. I don't feel this is a viable solution given Oracle's controversial reputation and licensing issues.
Therefore, I have absolutely no interest in things like "ZFS compatibility layers", which, as some people think, isolate Linux and ZFS from each other. These layers are of no use to us, and given Oracle's tendency to sue over the use of their interfaces, I don't think this really solves licensing problems.
Don't use ZFS. That's all. I think ZFS is more of a buzzword than anything else. Licensing issues are just one more reason why I will never get into this filesystem.
All the ZFS performance benchmarks I've seen are completely unimpressive. And, as I understand it, ZFS is no longer even properly supported, and there is no smell of long-term stability here. Why use it at all?
Source: linux.org.ru