When evaluating BTRFS (B-tree File System) and ZFS (Zettabyte File System), it's crucial to understand their fundamental design philosophies:

# ZFS architecture overview (simplified)
storage_pool = zpool create tank mirror sda sdb
filesystem = zfs create tank/data
compression = zfs set compression=lz4 tank/data

# BTRFS architecture basics
mkfs.btrfs -d raid1 -m raid1 /dev/sda /dev/sdb
btrfs filesystem defragment -r -v /mnt
btrfs balance start -dusage=50 /mnt

Running PostgreSQL 14 on both filesystems yields interesting results:

# ZFS configuration for database
zfs create -o recordsize=8K -o compression=lz4 tank/pgdata
zfs set atime=off tank/pgdata
zfs set logbias=latency tank/pgdata

# BTRFS equivalent setup
mkfs.btrfs -L pgdata /dev/sdc
mount -o noatime,compress-force=lzo,autodefrag /dev/sdc /var/lib/postgresql

Benchmark results show ZFS outperforms BTRFS by 12-15% in write-heavy workloads but BTRFS has better metadata performance for small files.

Both implement checksumming but with different approaches:

# ZFS checksum verification
zpool scrub tank
zpool status -v tank

# BTRFS integrity check
btrfs scrub start /mnt
btrfs scrub status /mnt

The snapshot implementations differ significantly:

# ZFS snapshot example
zfs snapshot tank/data@backup_202307
zfs send tank/data@backup_202307 | ssh backup_server "zfs recv tank/backups/data"

# BTRFS snapshot management
btrfs subvolume snapshot /mnt/data /mnt/data_backup
btrfs send /mnt/data_backup | ssh backup_server "btrfs receive /backup"

ZFS typically requires more RAM (1GB per TB storage recommended) while BTRFS is more lightweight:

# Monitoring ZFS ARC usage
arcstat.py 1

# Checking BTRFS memory usage
btrfs filesystem df /mnt
btrfs filesystem show /mnt

The CDDL (ZFS) vs GPL (BTRFS) licensing affects integration:

# Common ZFS on Linux setup (Ubuntu)
sudo apt install zfsutils-linux
sudo zpool import -f tank

# BTRFS on modern Linux distros
sudo mkfs.btrfs /dev/sdX
sudo mount -t btrfs /dev/sdX /mnt

When evaluating filesystems for server deployment, understanding their architectural foundations is crucial. ZFS (Zettabyte File System) originated at Sun Microsystems and follows a monolithic design where storage management is tightly integrated. BTRFS (B-Tree File System) was developed by Oracle for Linux and employs a more modular approach.

# Example ZFS pool creation on FreeBSD
zpool create tank mirror /dev/ada0 /dev/ada1
zfs create tank/datasets

# Example BTRFS filesystem creation on Linux
mkfs.btrfs -d raid1 -m raid1 /dev/sda /dev/sdb
mount /dev/sda /mnt/data

Several independent benchmarks reveal interesting patterns. For sequential read/write operations, ZFS typically shows 10-15% better performance due to its ARC (Adaptive Replacement Cache). However, BTRFS often outperforms in metadata-heavy operations:

# Benchmarking random read performance
fio --name=randread --ioengine=libaio --rw=randread --bs=4k --numjobs=16 \
    --size=1G --runtime=300 --time_based --end_fsync=1

Both systems offer checksumming, but implementation differs. ZFS uses 256-bit checksums and transactional copy-on-write, while BTRFS employs CRC32C checksums with optional more robust algorithms:

# Enabling stronger checksums in BTRFS
btrfs filesystem defrag -c zstd -r /path

ZFS snapshots are instantaneous and space-efficient. BTRFS snapshots are equally fast but handle subvolume relationships differently:

# ZFS snapshot and send/receive
zfs snapshot tank/dataset@monday
zfs send tank/dataset@monday | ssh backup zfs receive backup/dataset

# BTRFS snapshot
btrfs subvolume snapshot /data /data/snapshot_$(date +%Y%m%d)

ZFS is known for being memory-hungry (minimum 8GB recommended for production). BTRFS can run efficiently on systems with as little as 2GB RAM, though more improves performance.

Choose ZFS when:
- Maximum data integrity is critical
- You need advanced storage pooling features
- The system has ample RAM (16GB+ recommended)

Choose BTRFS when:
- You need native Linux integration
- System resources are limited
- You prioritize flexibility in storage configuration

ZFS recovery is generally more straightforward with zpool scrub and zdb tools. BTRFS recovery can be more complex but offers btrfs check --repair and btrfs restore utilities.

# Checking filesystem health
zpool status -v
btrfs filesystem show

ZFS development continues through OpenZFS with focus on encryption and cloud integration. BTRFS is seeing improvements in RAID5/6 reliability and shrinking functionality.