NetApp sued Sun Microsystems claiming that the ZFS technology Sun open sourced in 2005 infringes NetApp patents. Sun contributed ZFS to the community, and that contribution is now under attack from a vendor that wants to keep the IT community locked into its proprietary solutions. Among other things, NetApp is asking a court to order Sun to remove the ZFS code from open source.
Update: US Patent Office Grants Sun's Request to Reexamine NetApp
Patent Numbers 5,819,292; 6,857,001
and 6,892,211. In addition, all claims of the '001 patent purportedly
relating to writable snapshots have been rejected
by the US Patent Office. A copy of the reexam orders can be found under
the "More Information" tab.
Update: Sun files another lawsuit against NetApp. On March 28 Sun
filed another lawsuit against NetApp alledging
that storage management technology NetApp acquired from Onaro infringes
Sun patents. A copy of the complaint
can be found under the "More Information" tab.
Background
The purpose of this website is to inform the open source community about the patent lawsuit launched by NetApp, and to invite open source developers to help in responding to these claims.
NetApp has claimed that ZFS infringes 7 of NetApp's WAFL and storage patents. In one example, NetApp claims broadly to have invented the concept of "copy on write." Examples of such claims found in the NetApp patents are highlighted below. For those without prior experience in patent matters, claim language can, at times, be difficult to understand, especially when read out of context. Reading the complete patent can help put the claim language in perspective. Copies of the NetApp patents can be found under the "More Information" tab.
The open source development community is a great source of historical knowledge regarding storage and file system technology. Any information you can provide regarding technology related to these patents, especially similar technology that predates the patents, could be helpful, so please share. As in the spirit of other open source contributions, get involved and help to keep ZFS free!
Examples of particularly spurious patent claims are provided below:
NetApp Patent Number: 5,819,292 - purportedly relating to "copy on write"
4. A method for maintaining a file system comprising blocks of data stored in blocks of a non-volatile storage means at successive consistency points comprising the steps of:
- storing a first file system information structure for a first consistency point in said non-volatile storage means, said first file system information structure comprising data describing a layout of said file system at said first consistency point of said file system; of data of said file system that have been modified
- writing blocks from said first consistency point as of the commencement of a second consistency point to free blocks of said non-volatile storage means;
- storing in said non-volatile storage means a second file system information structure for said second consistency point, said second file system information structure comprising data describing a layout said file system at said second consistency point of said file system.
NetApp Patent Number: 6,857,001 - purportedly relating to "writable snapshots"
1. A method of operating data storage, the method including maintenance of plural active file systems, wherein each of the active file systems initially access data shared with another of the active file systems, and wherein changes made to each of the active file systems are not reflected in the active file system with which the changed active file system shares the data.
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NetApp Patent Number: 7,174, 352 - purportedly relating to "snapshot"
38. In a file system having a plurality of storage blocks, a data structure including
- a snapshot of a set of member storage blocks selected from said plurality, said member storage blocks forming a consistent file system other than an active file system;
- said snapshot being represented as an object in said file system and having a set of storage blocks for recording said snapshot;
- whereby a backup and restore operation on said file system has the property of preserving said snapshot within said file system.
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