I'm curious about the implications of working with files stored on a server that uses ZFS and ECC. If someone accesses a file from that server using a workstation that has ECC but lacks a resilient file system, does the file get cached on that machine or is it kept only in RAM? I've heard suggestions that it's better for users to download files, work on them locally, and then upload them back. But for this to ensure data integrity, shouldn't the workstation also have ECC and ZFS? Many workstations don't have ZFS, so should they only have read access to those files instead?
2 Answers
Could you go deeper into what you mean by extreme mission-critical integrity?
You’re thinking too much about this! It really boils down to how the application handles file usage. Sometimes the file is accessed directly from RAM, while other times, it may be cached on the local file system. What's your specific scenario that you’re anxious about? With the tech you’re mentioning, data integrity should generally not be a big issue. If you're dealing with super critical data though, there are dedicated system architectures available for maximum integrity.
Sure thing! For mission-critical applications, you typically want systems that have built-in redundancy and error-checking features, like RAID combined with ECC memory, to prevent data corruption.