Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Greyhole VS btrfs

Compare Greyhole VS btrfs and see what are their differences

Greyhole logo Greyhole

Greyhole is an application that uses Samba to create a storage pool of all your available hard drives, and allows you to create redundant copies of the files you store, in order to prevent data loss when part of your hardware fails.

btrfs logo btrfs

Btrfs is a modern copy on write (CoW) filesystem for Linux aimed at implementing advanced features...
  • Greyhole Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-04-18
  • btrfs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-05

Greyhole features and specs

  • Data Redundancy
    Greyhole offers data redundancy by allowing users to keep multiple copies of files spread out across different disks, reducing the risk of data loss.
  • Flexible Storage Management
    Users can add and remove disks of different sizes from the pool at any time without losing data, providing flexibility in managing storage resources.
  • Integration with Samba
    Greyhole integrates seamlessly with Samba, making it easy to share files across a network using the SMB protocol.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source software, Greyhole is free to use, and its source code can be viewed, modified, and distributed by anyone.

Possible disadvantages of Greyhole

  • Complex Setup
    The initial setup of Greyhole can be complex, requiring a good understanding of Linux systems and command-line operations.
  • Performance Overhead
    Since Greyhole relies on Samba and uses multiple disks, there can be performance overhead, especially during file writing and data replication.
  • Limited Platform Support
    Greyhole primarily runs on Linux systems, limiting its usage for users who prefer or need other operating systems like Windows or macOS.
  • Lack of Formal Support
    Being an open-source project, Greyhole doesn't have formal customer support, which may be a drawback for those needing professional assistance.

btrfs features and specs

  • Snapshotting
    Btrfs supports both read-only and read-write snapshots, allowing for efficient data backup and recovery operations without needing to duplicate data.
  • Data Integrity
    Btrfs uses checksums for data and metadata, providing robust protection against data corruption by detecting and correcting errors from disk failures.
  • Subvolumes
    Using subvolumes, Btrfs provides a flexible way to manage different data sets within a single file system, offering separate quotas and snapshots.
  • Compression
    Btrfs supports transparent file system compression, leading to reduced storage footprint and potentially improved read performance by decreasing data transfer sizes.
  • RAID Support
    Btrfs has built-in support for numerous RAID levels, such as RAID 0, 1, and 10, which can improve data redundancy and performance without external tools.

Possible disadvantages of btrfs

  • Maturity
    While Btrfs has many advanced features, some users experience concerns regarding its maturity and stability, particularly in mission-critical environments.
  • Performance Overhead
    Due to its many features such as checksums and snapshots, Btrfs can have higher CPU and memory usage compared to other file systems, potentially affecting performance.
  • Complexity
    The extensive feature set and capabilities of Btrfs add to its complexity, which can pose a challenge for users who are unfamiliar with its workings.
  • Limited FSCK Support
    The file system check (fsck) utility for Btrfs is not as mature as that for other file systems, potentially complicating recovery processes in case of file system issues.
  • Compatibility
    Some operating systems and applications still lack full compatibility or support for Btrfs features, which can cause issues for users who rely on those systems.

Greyhole videos

Greyhole Video Demo

btrfs videos

BTRFS vs EXT 4 - Which File System Should you Use?

More videos:

  • Review - File Systems | Which One is the Best? ZFS, BTRFS, or EXT4
  • Review - Make BTRFS The Default Filesystem On EVERY Linux Distro

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Greyhole and btrfs)
Cloud Storage
45 45%
55% 55
Cloud Computing
45 45%
55% 55
Storage
45 45%
55% 55
Network & Admin
47 47%
53% 53

User comments

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Greyhole and btrfs, you can also consider the following products

StableBit DrivePool - State of the art, file based drive pooling software.

mhddfs - The driver combines a several mount points into the single one.

Drive Bender - Drive Bender, class leading storage pooling technology

Unraid - Simplicity. Flexibility. Scalability. Modularity. Unraid empowers you to build the system you’ve always wanted using your preferred hardware, software, and operating systems.

EON ZFS Storage - EON ZFS Network Attached Storage

mergerfs - mergerfs is a union filesystem geared towards simplifing storage and management of files across...