Apache Hadoop HDFS vs Apache Ozone
Apache Hadoop HDFS
hadoop.apache.orgApache Ozone
ozone.apache.orgSide by side
| Figure | Apache Hadoop HDFS | Apache Ozone |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Data Lake Software | 8.9 (#1) | 8.2 (#4) |
| Integrations | Hadoop 3.5.0 includes a FileSystem implementation for Google Cloud Storage, and its documentation also lists connectors for Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, and Azure Data Lake Storage. | The project lists Hive, Spark, Flink, Iceberg, Trino, Impala, Ranger, Knox, Kerberos, Prometheus, Grafana, Oozie, Hue, HBase, and DistCp as integrations. |
| Interfaces | Applications can use the Java FileSystem API, a C wrapper, WebHDFS REST, browser access or the NFS gateway. | Applications can access Ozone through its S3-compatible REST API, Hadoop-compatible filesystem interface, Java client API, and CLI. |
| License | Apache packages are generally distributed under the OSI-approved Apache License 2.0 unless a package states otherwise. | Apache Ozone is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. |
| Purpose | HDFS is a distributed file system designed for high-throughput access to large application data sets on commodity hardware. | Apache Ozone is a scalable distributed object store designed for lakehouse workloads, AI/ML, and cloud-native applications. |
| Scale | HDFS is designed to scale to hundreds of nodes in a cluster and support tens of millions of files in one instance. | Ozone supports deployments up to billions of objects and exabytes of capacity. |
| Security | Production clusters are expected to use Kerberos for caller authentication and access control. | Ozone supports Kerberos authentication, ACLs, Ranger policy management, TLS/SSL in transit, and TDE at rest. |
| Support | The project asks users not to request private support from its non-paid volunteers and directs help requests to module mailing lists. | The Apache Software Foundation says it does not provide formal or commercial support for its software packages. |
Plans
Apache Hadoop HDFS
- Apache Hadoop HDFSFree
- Apache Hadoop / HDFS open-source distributionFree
In their own words
Apache Hadoop HDFS
Apache Hadoop HDFS is a free, open-source distributed file system for high-throughput access to large application data sets on commodity hardware. It is designed for clusters of hundreds of nodes and can support tens of millions of files in one instance. HDFS copies file blocks across machines and detects failed DataNodes so it can start creating replacement copies. Its design prioritizes batch processing and streaming throughput rather than low-latency interactive workloads. Files follow a write-once, read-many model: appends and truncates are supported, but arbitrary in-place changes are not. Applications can connect through Java, a C wrapper, REST, a browser interface or an NFS gateway. The documentation lists connectors for Google Cloud Storage, Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage and Azure Data Lake Storage. HDFS supports transparent encryption. Apache warns that without Kerberos caller authentication, anyone with network access to cluster servers can access data and run code, and recommends securing clusters before production. Apache also recommends checking release downloads with GPG signatures or SHA-512 checksums. The listed stable release is Hadoop 3.5.0, dated April 2, 2026.
Apache Ozone
Apache Ozone is a free, self-hosted distributed object store for data lakes, lakehouse workloads, AI/ML, cloud-native applications, and Hadoop or Spark storage. It supports deployments reaching billions of objects and exabytes of capacity, with configurable replication or erasure coding for each bucket or object. Applications can connect through an S3-compatible REST API, a Hadoop-compatible filesystem interface, a Java client API, or command-line tools. Ozone provides strong consistency: reads reflect the latest successfully completed writes. Security options include Kerberos authentication, ACLs, Ranger policy management, TLS/SSL in transit, and TDE at rest. Administrators can set volume and bucket quotas, create read-only point-in-time bucket snapshots, and use the Recon web UI or CLI tools. Listed integrations include Hive, Spark, Flink, Iceberg, Trino, Impala, Ranger, Knox, Kerberos, Prometheus, Grafana, Oozie, Hue, HBase, and DistCp. Deployment guides cover Docker, Kubernetes, and bare metal. The software is licensed under Apache License 2.0; the Apache Software Foundation says it does not provide formal or commercial support.