LizardFS vs OpenEBS

LizardFS is an on-premises distributed file system that combines storage from several servers into a single namespace. Data is kept in multiple replicas across available servers, and new servers can be added without downtime; chunks move automatically to balance disk use. Erasure coding divides data into parts and parity stripes, with the maker stating that it can save up to 70% of storage capacity depending on configuration. Snapshots copy metadata while sharing data chunks until a file changes. Georeplication can copy data between data centers and lets administrators choose where data is stored. Administrators can set read and write bandwidth limits and apply soft or hard quotas for file counts and total size. Deleted files go to an administrator-visible trash bin for restoration or permanent deletion. Storage is installed on Linux, with Windows and macOS clients for cluster access. LizardFS supports NFS 3.x, NFS 4.0, and pNFS, and the maker describes using it with Elasticsearch and Logstash. Pricing is available on request; support packages include weekday or 24/7 assistance depending on tier.

OpenEBS is open-source Kubernetes storage software for developers and platform SREs deploying stateful workloads. It turns storage on Kubernetes worker nodes into local or distributed persistent volumes and operates in userspace rather than relying on Linux kernel-dependent software. Its engines include Replicated PV Mayastor and local volumes using Hostpath, LVM, ZFS, or experimental Rawfile. Mayastor can synchronously replicate volumes across Kubernetes zones. Kubernetes-native operations provide copy-on-write snapshots and clones, while Velero plugins support backup and restore to AWS S3, GCP Object Storage, or MinIO. Volumes expose metrics including IOPS, throughput, latency, and traffic patterns for Prometheus and Grafana. OpenEBS also exposes declarative APIs through Kubernetes custom resources and can be installed with Helm 3.2 or newer. Mayastor disk pools support data-at-rest encryption with user-defined AES-XTS keys. Listed use cases include self-managed databases, observability stacks, CI/CD, object storage, websites, and ML pipelines. Mayastor DiskPools are limited to one block device, and encryption keys cannot be rotated.