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GlusterFS VS Longhorn

Compare GlusterFS VS Longhorn and see what are their differences

GlusterFS logo GlusterFS

GlusterFS is a scale-out network-attached storage file system.

Longhorn logo Longhorn

Container-based distributed block storage
  • GlusterFS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-03-10
  • Longhorn Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-17

GlusterFS features and specs

  • Scalability
    GlusterFS can easily scale out by adding more servers to the cluster, allowing it to handle increasing amounts of data and traffic.
  • Distributed File System
    It provides a distributed file system, enabling data replication and distribution across multiple nodes, which enhances data availability and reliability.
  • Open Source
    Being open source, GlusterFS provides flexibility and freedom for customization to fit specific needs without the cost associated with proprietary solutions.
  • POSIX Compliance
    GlusterFS is POSIX-compliant, meaning it supports standard file system operations, which makes it easier to integrate with existing applications and systems.
  • High Availability
    With built-in features like self-healing and replication, GlusterFS ensures that data remains available and consistent even in the event of hardware failures.
  • Geographical Distribution
    It supports geographical distribution of data, which is beneficial for disaster recovery and accessing data from multiple locations.

Possible disadvantages of GlusterFS

  • Performance Overhead
    Due to its distributed nature, GlusterFS might introduce performance overhead, particularly for workloads requiring low-latency or high-throughput.
  • Complexity in Management
    Managing a GlusterFS cluster can be complex, requiring in-depth knowledge of the system to properly configure and troubleshoot issues.
  • Latency Issues
    Latency can become a significant issue, especially in write-heavy applications or when nodes are geographically distant.
  • Resource Intensive
    GlusterFS can be resource-intensive, requiring significant CPU and memory resources to manage its distributed architecture and ensure data consistency.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Compared to other distributed file systems, GlusterFS may lack some advanced features like native support for certain storage protocols or comprehensive storage tiering.
  • Community Support
    While there is a community around GlusterFS, the level and speed of community support may not match that of commercially-backed solutions.

Longhorn features and specs

  • Open Source
    Longhorn is an open-source project, which ensures that it is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. This encourages community collaboration and contribution, allowing for continuous improvement and shared innovation.
  • Cloud Native
    Designed specifically for containerized environments, Longhorn integrates well with Kubernetes, providing storage solutions that are optimized for cloud-native applications.
  • Lightweight
    Longhorn is known for being lightweight, which allows it to add persistent storage capabilities to Kubernetes clusters without significant overhead, maintaining performance efficiency.
  • Ease of Use
    It offers a user-friendly interface for managing storage and is easy to deploy, making it accessible for users who may not be deeply familiar with complex storage systems.
  • Automatic Backups
    Longhorn supports automatic scheduled backups, which helps in data protection and ensures that storage can be recovered easily in case of failures.

Possible disadvantages of Longhorn

  • Limited Features Compared to Enterprise Solutions
    While Longhorn provides essential storage functionalities, it might lack some advanced features available in more established enterprise storage solutions, such as advanced analytics or extensive integration options.
  • Resource Consumption
    Longhorn, while lightweight compared to some alternatives, still consumes resources and may require careful management to avoid impacting performance on clusters with heavy workloads.
  • Reliance on Kubernetes
    Longhorn is tightly integrated with Kubernetes, which means its benefits are most relevant to Kubernetes users. Those not using Kubernetes may find limited applicability.
  • Complex Recovery Scenarios
    In certain complex failure scenarios, recovering data can be challenging, potentially requiring manual intervention and a good understanding of both Longhorn and Kubernetes internals.

GlusterFS videos

An Overview of GlusterFS Architecture Part 2 - Non-replicated Cluster

Longhorn videos

2019 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn Review - The Mercedes S Class for Cowboys

More videos:

  • Review - Restaurant Review - LongHorn Steakhouse | Atlanta Eats
  • Review - Longhorn Steakhouse Wings Food Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GlusterFS and Longhorn)
Cloud Storage
80 80%
20% 20
Cloud Computing
77 77%
23% 23
Storage
76 76%
24% 24
Object Storage
73 73%
27% 27

User comments

Share your experience with using GlusterFS and Longhorn. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Longhorn should be more popular than GlusterFS. It has been mentiond 6 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GlusterFS mentions (2)

  • [D] What are the compute options you've considered for your projects?
    I am a fan of Gearman to schedule and dispatch distributed jobs, Redis as a collaborative blackboard, and GlusterFS to share models across multiple systems and make bulk data available across the entire system (usually referenced in the blackboard as a pathname). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Gluster vs Oracle Gluster
    If you're not relying on support, then I would probably standardize on the latest packages available from gluster.org. Source: almost 4 years ago

Longhorn mentions (6)

  • Awesome Kubernetes Resources !!! 🔥
    💚Longhorn 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 - Longhorn is a distributed block storage system for Kubernetes. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Diskomator – NVMe-TCP at your fingertips
    I'm looking forward to Longhorn[1] taking advantage of this technology. [1]: https://github.com/longhorn/longhorn. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • What alternatives are there to Longhorn?
    What backup store you were using? S3 or NFS? Have you tried to report your issues to https://github.com/longhorn/longhorn? Longhorn maintainers/contributors will definitely help with any issues reported by the community. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Top 200 Kubernetes Tools for DevOps Engineer Like You
    ChubaoFS - distributed file system and object storage Longhorn - Cloud-Native distributed block storage built on and for Kubernetes OpenEBS - Kubernetes native - hyperconverged block storage with multiple storage engines Rook - Storage Orchestration for Kubernetes SeaweedFS - Distributed file system supports read-write many volumes TiKV - Distributed transactional key-value database Velero - Backup... - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Rancher Desktop, a Docker Desktop Replacement
    They've also got Longhorn, a distributed container-attached storage solution that's very simple to understand and easy to deploy. Performance is another thing but that's the same with all of the general networked storage solutions (Ceph included). Rancher's got a well deserved good impression in my mind, though early on I avoided it since it seemed like they were building a walled garden. [0]:... - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing GlusterFS and Longhorn, you can also consider the following products

Ceph - Ceph is a distributed object store and file system designed to provide excellent performance...

rkt - App Container runtime

Seaweed FS - SeaweedFS is a simple and highly scalable distributed file system to store and serve billions of files fast! SeaweedFS object store has O(1) disk seek and SeaweedFS Filer supports cross-cluster replication, POSIX, S3 API, ,…

Apache Karaf - Apache Karaf is a lightweight, modern and polymorphic container powered by OSGi.

Minio - Minio is an open-source minimal cloud storage server.

VMware vSAN - VMware vSAN is radically simple, enterprise-class software-defined storage powering VMware hyper-converged infrastructure.