Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GlusterFS VS sshfs

Compare GlusterFS VS sshfs and see what are their differences

GlusterFS logo GlusterFS

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

sshfs logo sshfs

This is a filesystem client based on the SSH File Transfer Protocol.
  • GlusterFS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-03-10
  • sshfs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-26

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.

sshfs features and specs

  • Remote File Access
    SSHFS allows you to mount remote directories over SSH, enabling seamless access to files on a remote server as if they were on your local machine.
  • Security
    Relying on SSH for data transmission ensures encrypted and secure communication between the client and server, protecting against eavesdropping and tampering.
  • Ease of Use
    Setting up SSHFS is straightforward for those already familiar with SSH, making it a convenient solution for remote file handling without needing additional configurations.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    SSHFS can be used across various Unix-like systems and has ports for macOS and Windows, offering broad compatibility for different environments.
  • Portability
    As SSHFS builds on SSH, it can be used almost anywhere SSH is available, providing flexibility in working across different networks and setups.

Possible disadvantages of sshfs

  • Performance
    Since SSHFS relies on SSH for data transfer, it may not perform as well as traditional network file systems, particularly over high-latency connections.
  • Limited Functionality
    SSHFS might not support all functionalities of a full-fledged network file system, such as advanced file locking mechanisms or sophisticated permission management.
  • Dependency on SSH
    The effectiveness of SSHFS is contingent upon SSH configurations and permissions, which can limit usability if not properly set up.
  • Potential Security Risks
    If SSH access is compromised or not sufficiently secured, the data accessed over SSHFS is at risk, underscoring the need for robust SSH security practices.
  • Mount Stability
    In the event of network interruptions or SSH session drops, SSHFS mounts can become unstable or unresponsive, requiring remounting or manual intervention.

GlusterFS videos

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

sshfs videos

Mounting Remote Filesystems With SSHFS

More videos:

  • Review - sshfs - Mount Network Share over SSH - Linux CLI
  • Review - Hak5 - Build Secure Online Storage - SSHFS, File Systems, Fuse and Userland, Hak5 1111 part1

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GlusterFS and sshfs)
Cloud Storage
72 72%
28% 28
FTP Client
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0
Storage
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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

Based on our record, sshfs seems to be a lot more popular than GlusterFS. While we know about 34 links to sshfs, we've tracked only 2 mentions of GlusterFS. 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

sshfs mentions (34)

  • Sshfs for Windows
    What are you basing that on? It had a release in 2022 and last commit is 7 months old. It probably hasn't needed any new features in a while. I'm not sure how often it would need security updates. Ah, I see now there's a note in the README[0]. It sounds more like it's in maintenance mode / understaffed than completely abandoned, but I suppose it's worth being aware of. Sshfs has been a killer feature for me on my... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • How do you setup your gnome extension development environment?
    Sshfs - allows us mount a remote filesystem using SFTP. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • The Cheapest NAS
    I use sshfs. If you can login via ssh then you can mount the remote server through ssh as a local drive. https://github.com/libfuse/sshfs For added security I limit my home ssh access to a handful of trusted IPs including my cloud VM. Then I set up an ssh tunnel from my hotel through the cloud VM to home. The cloud VM never sees my password / key. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Rclone syncs your files to cloud storage
    > It's replaced sshfs for some cases. I'd been using sshfs for some years until I learned that rclone can mount remotes to the file system, and I've been using that happily since then. https://rclone.org/commands/rclone_mount/ > at present SSHFS does not have any active, regular contributors, and there are a number of known issues - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • A currently maintained fork of SSHFS
    Interesting, I alaways assumed sshfs was part of OpenSSH, learn something new every day. Also, looks like sshfs used in Slackware is abandoned. https://github.com/libfuse/sshfs A quote from the link, I wonder if this project will be the 'one': >If you would like to take over this project, you are welcome to do so. Please fork it and develop the fork for a while. Once... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

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

WinSCP - WinSCP is an open source free SFTP client and FTP client for Windows.

rkt - App Container runtime

Rclone - rsync for cloud storage.

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

win-sshfs - Mount a unix server location as a virtual Windows drive