Comment by lmm
6 years ago
It isn't just ZFS. All sorts of drivers get broken because Linux refuses to offer a stable API, saying your code should be in the kernel, but also often refuses to accept drivers into the kernel, even open-source code with no particular quality issues (e.g. quickcam, reiserfsv4).
Use FreeBSD where there's a stable ABI and you don't have these problems.
Plenty of drivers get rejected because the kernel developers have no confidence that they will be maintained going forward, which would mean the driver would be removed fairly quickly again.
FreeBSD does not really have a stable ABI; every major release breaks the ABI, so it's only stable for 2 years.
https://wiki.freebsd.org/VendorInformation
Stable for each major and minor release is still a vast step up on Linux.
Having a stable ABI for two years is vastly easier to support than an ABI which changes every two weeks. This is reflected by the number of binary modules which are packaged for FreeBSD in the ports tree, and provided by third-party vendors. This stability makes it possible to properly support for a reasonable timeframe, and vendors are doing so.
Honestly, I don't like binary modules and I am happy with policy that let's me have functional operating system with modern hardware with source code that I have access to (well... except the firmware that even Linux can't do anything about until open-source hardware projects get more traction).
It is enough that almost all devices around me have a bunch of running code that I have absolutely no control over. I need at least one computer I can trust to do MY bidding.
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