Re: Switching release media dist sets to .tzst (tar + zstd)?
- In reply to: Ed Maste : "Switching release media dist sets to .tzst (tar + zstd)?"
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Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2024 01:58:16 UTC
> On Dec 14, 2024, at 5:15 AM, Ed Maste <emaste@freebsd.org> wrote: > > I have been reviewing parts of the release artifact build process, > including ISO and memstick images, and came across the distribution > sets (e.g., base.txz, src.txz) used by the installer to populate new > file systems. I’d like to discuss switching these to .tzst (tar + > zstd) compression. > > While I haven’t yet conducted detailed benchmarks comparing zstd and > xz specifically for this use case, here are some initial > considerations: > > Pros of zstd: > - Faster compression and decompression speeds. > - Aligns with the compression method used for FreeBSD packages. > > Cons of zstd: > - Somewhat larger compressed file sizes. > - Requires updates to tools that interact with distribution sets. > - May have limited availability on some other operating systems (?). > > I have a review open to demonstrate the extent of the change in the > build system & installer: https://reviews.freebsd.org/D48042 > > It might be that this is not worth pursuing, as dist sets will most > likely go away with the migration to pkgbase, but I would like to > discuss and make an explicit decision. We can separately consider > compression on the release media images themselves. > > Feedback Requested: > > Is there support for this idea? Are there objections to pursuing this? > Are there other factors I should consider, especially compatibility concerns? > I have slow internet, I'd always prefer xz than zstd, as the decompress speed does not matter much. For the compression, I'm not member of RE, but I guess that ( the slow speed of compression ) is affordable, as the releasing is not frequent. One good example usage of zstd is compressed kernel ( it seems we do not support that yet ). OCI images may also have benefit with that as those images typically not large, xz saves a little more spaces then zstd but the decompress speed is much slower. It is good to have fast startup speed of containers. Best regards, Zhenlei