Source URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41705221
Source: Hacker News
Title: ZFS native encryption is currently broken for encrypted backups
Feedly Summary: Comments
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The text discusses issues related to ZFS native encryption, particularly its buggy performance when handling raw encrypted snapshots. It suggests alternatives like using LUKS for smaller pools and Restic for incremental encrypted backups. This is relevant for security and compliance professionals focusing on data encryption and backup strategies.
Detailed Description:
The text is focused on the challenges associated with ZFS native encryption, particularly highlighting its inefficiencies when sending or receiving raw encrypted snapshots. The author expresses a consensus among users regarding the unreliability of this feature and offers alternatives for better encryption and backup processes. Below are the major points:
– **Issues with ZFS Native Encryption:**
– ZFS native encryption has been reported as buggy, especially when handling raw encrypted snapshots.
– Users on platforms like GitHub and Reddit express concerns about its performance issues and the ZFS leadership’s handling of these problems, with claims of a failure to acknowledge the flaws.
– The author mentions that while ZFS encryption works well locally, users are cautioned against sending raw encrypted snapshots due to numerous warnings.
– **Recommended Alternatives:**
– **LUKS (Linux Unified Key Setup):**
– Suggests that for small ZFS pools, LUKS may provide faster performance compared to ZFS native encryption.
– Raises questions about the performance of LUKS with larger pools, indicating a lack of concrete data.
– **Restic:**
– Advocates for using Restic to make incremental encrypted backups of ZFS snapshots.
– Notes that Restic allows for the deletion of incremental snapshots without data loss, maximizing efficiency and reducing potential data management issues.
– Emphasizes the new features in Restic versions 0.17 and 0.18, which facilitate better handling of ZFS snapshots.
– Provides a method for backing up datasets using Restic snapshots efficiently, separating the local sanoid ZFS snapshots from the Restic snapshots for better management and organization.
This analysis underscores critical insights for security professionals, particularly in the context of data encryption and efficient backup strategies within ZFS environments. Adopting alternative methods like LUKS and Restic may enhance security posture and address the limitations of ZFS native encryption.