topic Re: Any open-source implementation of file based flex-cloning? in ONTAP Discussions

Any open-source implementation of file based flex-cloning?

irakli_natsvlishvili — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 15:12:18 GMT

Brief search does not come with anything - is there any open-source project with the same functionality as file based flex cloning?

Re: Any open-source implementation of file based flex-cloning?

aborzenkov — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 11:14:28 GMT

Linux "cp --reflink" does very much the same on filesystems that support it (btrfs, I think recent XFS, ocfs2, may be more).

Re: Any open-source implementation of file based flex-cloning?

irakli_natsvlishvili — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 11:53:59 GMT

With cp --reflink can you delete parent of the cloned file like the one with ONTAP?

On backed implementation does it do block level cloning like Netapp does?

Re: Any open-source implementation of file based flex-cloning?

aborzenkov — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 11:43:05 GMT

Answer to 1 is "yes". I am not sure what you mean with "block level cloning". "cp --reflink" creates file that shares actual data areas with source. To my knowledge that is what flexcloning file on NetApp does as well.

Re: Any open-source implementation of file based flex-cloning?

irakli_natsvlishvili — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 11:54:51 GMT

Thanks. Will give a try.