zpool-features.5

'\" te
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.TH ZPOOL-FEATURES 5 "Mar 16, 2012"
.SH NAME
zpool\-features \- ZFS pool feature descriptions
.SH DESCRIPTION
.sp
.LP
ZFS pool on\-disk format versions are specified via "features" which replace
the old on\-disk format numbers (the last supported on\-disk format number is
28). To enable a feature on a pool use the \fBupgrade\fR subcommand of the
\fBzpool\fR(1M) command, or set the \fBfeature@\fR\fIfeature_name\fR property
to \fBenabled\fR.
.sp
.LP
The pool format does not affect file system version compatibility or the ability
to send file systems between pools.
.sp
.LP
Since most features can be enabled independently of each other the on\-disk
format of the pool is specified by the set of all features marked as
\fBactive\fR on the pool. If the pool was created by another software version
this set may include unsupported features.
.SS "Identifying features"
.sp
.LP
Every feature has a guid of the form \fIcom.example:feature_name\fR. The reverse
DNS name ensures that the feature's guid is unique across all ZFS
implementations. When unsupported features are encountered on a pool they will
be identified by their guids. Refer to the documentation for the ZFS
implementation that created the pool for information about those features.
.sp
.LP
Each supported feature also has a short name. By convention a feature's short
name is the portion of its guid which follows the ':' (e.g.
\fIcom.example:feature_name\fR would have the short name \fIfeature_name\fR),
however a feature's short name may differ across ZFS implementations if
following the convention would result in name conflicts.
.SS "Feature states"
.sp
.LP
Features can be in one of three states:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBactive\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 12n
This feature's on\-disk format changes are in effect on the pool. Support for
this feature is required to import the pool in read\-write mode. If this
feature is not read-only compatible, support is also required to import the pool
in read\-only mode (see "Read\-only compatibility").
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBenabled\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 12n
An administrator has marked this feature as enabled on the pool, but the
feature's on\-disk format changes have not been made yet. The pool can still be
imported by software that does not support this feature, but changes may be made
to the on\-disk format at any time which will move the feature to the
\fBactive\fR state. Some features may support returning to the \fBenabled\fR
state after becoming \fBactive\fR. See feature\-specific documentation for
details.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fBdisabled\fR
.ad
.RS 12n
This feature's on\-disk format changes have not been made and will not be made
unless an administrator moves the feature to the \fBenabled\fR state. Features
cannot be disabled once they have been enabled.
.RE

.sp
.LP
The state of supported features is exposed through pool properties of the form
\fIfeature@short_name\fR.
.SS "Read\-only compatibility"
.sp
.LP
Some features may make on\-disk format changes that do not interfere with other
software's ability to read from the pool. These features are referred to as
"read\-only compatible". If all unsupported features on a pool are read\-only
compatible, the pool can be imported in read\-only mode by setting the
\fBreadonly\fR property during import (see \fBzpool\fR(1M) for details on
importing pools).
.SS "Unsupported features"
.sp
.LP
For each unsupported feature enabled on an imported pool a pool property
named \fIunsupported@feature_guid\fR will indicate why the import was allowed
despite the unsupported feature. Possible values for this property are:

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBinactive\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 12n
The feature is in the \fBenabled\fR state and therefore the pool's on\-disk
format is still compatible with software that does not support this feature.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBreadonly\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 12n
The feature is read\-only compatible and the pool has been imported in
read\-only mode.
.RE

.SS "Feature dependencies"
.sp
.LP
Some features depend on other features being enabled in order to function
properly. Enabling a feature will automatically enable any features it
depends on.
.SH FEATURES
.sp
.LP
The following features are supported on this system:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBasync_destroy\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 4n
.TS
l l .
GUID	com.delphix:async_destroy
READ\-ONLY COMPATIBLE	yes
DEPENDENCIES	none
.TE

Destroying a file system requires traversing all of its data in order to
return its used space to the pool. Without \fBasync_destroy\fR the file system
is not fully removed until all space has been reclaimed. If the destroy
operation is interrupted by a reboot or power outage the next attempt to open
the pool will need to complete the destroy operation synchronously.

When \fBasync_destroy\fR is enabled the file system's data will be reclaimed
by a background process, allowing the destroy operation to complete without
traversing the entire file system. The background process is able to resume
interrupted destroys after the pool has been opened, eliminating the need
to finish interrupted destroys as part of the open operation. The amount
of space remaining to be reclaimed by the background process is available
through the \fBfreeing\fR property.

This feature is only \fBactive\fR while \fBfreeing\fR is non\-zero.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBempty_bpobj\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 4n
.TS
l l .
GUID	com.delphix:empty_bpobj
READ\-ONLY COMPATIBLE	yes
DEPENDENCIES	none
.TE

This feature increases the performance of creating and using a large
number of snapshots of a single filesystem or volume, and also reduces
the disk space required.

When there are many snapshots, each snapshot uses many Block Pointer
Objects (bpobj's) to track blocks associated with that snapshot.
However, in common use cases, most of these bpobj's are empty.  This
feature allows us to create each bpobj on-demand, thus eliminating the
empty bpobjs.

This feature is \fBactive\fR while there are any filesystems, volumes,
or snapshots which were created after enabling this feature.
.RE

.SH "SEE ALSO"
\fBzpool\fR(1M)