Why would a new filesystem in the latest Linux kernel be named after a class of mollusks that includes things like octopuses and squid? Because Ceph, as the new distributed filesystem included in the latest Linux kernel is known, can manage petabytes of storage by tapping into multiple storage nodes, conjuring, perhaps, the image of the tentacles of its namesake creatures.
But the new Linux 2.6.34 kernel is about a lot more than abstract squid analogies. Linux Planet reports on the new kernel, which in addition to Ceph, introduces another new filesystem dubbed LogFS, which supports flash-memory-based devices.
The Linux 2.6.34 kernel is now available, delivering new filesystems to the open source operating system.
Among the big new items included in the 2.6.34 release is the Ceph distributed filesystem and LogFS, a filesystem geared toward flash media devices. The update comes as the second major Linux kernel development of 2010 and follows the Linux 2.6.33 kernel release by just under three months.
“Generally what I’m excited about is the whole improvement in things that we see in the filesystem area,” Markus Rex, director of open platform solutions at Novell, told InternetNews.com. “I think when I look at the proliferation of storage and the sheer volume of terabytes that people have at their disposal, filesystem technology in Linux is on a very good track toward leveraging the space and capabilities of new storage technologies.”