Subject: [bug#45692] [PATCH v4 3/3] gnu: Add ZFS service type.

From: Xinglu Chen <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 04 Sep 2021 23:19:01 +0200

On Sun, Jul 25 2021, raid5atemyhomework via Guix-patches via wrote:

> Hello nonexistent reviewer,
>
> I updated this patch to latest `origin/master` because the previous
> version has bitrotted and will not `git am` cleanly anymore.
>
> There are no changes relative to v3, just rebased it so that the patch applies cleanly.
>
> Testing has been very minimal: I created a VM with the added service,
> then ran it in a VM session that included additional devices (qcow2
> files) from a previous VM run that formatted those as devices of a ZFS
> pool, and confirmed that the new VM could read it and manage that
> pool.
>
>
> Is there any chance this will get reviewed or should I just not bother
> and move on with my life and forget about Guix?
>
>
> At this point as well, I would like to point out what I think is a
> failing of how the Guix distribution is managed.
>
> Guix does not assign any particular committers to any particular tasks or areas.
> The intent is that any committer can review and commit any particular patch.
>
> However, this fails as the Guix project has grown.
>
> No single committer wants to review ***all*** the available patches,
> and this is understandable, as the Guix project has grown
> significantly and includes a wide variety of people with diverging
> interests and as an open-source project you cannot really require that
> particular people look at particular things.  Unfortunately, I do not
> know *who* committers are, and more importantly, *which* committer
> might be interested in this ZFS service type.  Because "any committer
> can review and commit any patch!!" there is no particular list or
> table I can refer to, to figure out who might be useful to ping for
> this patchset.
>
> At the same time, because no committer is interested in *all* patches
> I cannot just ping some particular person and expect to somehow get on
> some list somewhere that tells me "you will be the 48486th patch that
> will be reviewed by <foo> who is interested in all patches".
>
>
> It is very discouraging to work on this code for a few weeks, release
> it, not get any reviews, and end up in a situation where I have to
> make annoying small changes just to keep the patch from bitrotting.
>
> I understand that there are few possible reviewers, but if potential
> new contributors get discouraged from contributing because they do not
> see their code actually getting in, then you really cannot expect the
> number of reviewers to increase, either.
>
> I think it would be nice if I could at least be told some number of
> people who *might* be interested in this patch, or just throw the
> towel and not bother.

You might want to bring up the topic of subsystem maintainers on the
guix-devel mailing list to get some more attention.

I am just some random ZFS user, so maybe take my comments with a pinch
of salt.

I haven’t followed the thread that closely, so apologies if some of my
questions have already been answered.

>
> Thanks
> raid5atemyhomework
>
>
> From 5351aa7c1c14d4fea032adad895c436e02d1f261 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> From: raid5atemyhomework <[email-masked]>
> Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2021 16:26:28 +0800
> Subject: [PATCH] gnu: Add ZFS service type.
>
> * gnu/services/file-systems.scm: New file.
> * gnu/local.mk (GNU_SYSTEM_MODULES): Add it.
> * gnu/services/base.scm: Export dependency->shepherd-service-name.
> * doc/guix.texi (ZFS File System): New subsection.
> ---
>  doc/guix.texi                 | 351 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  gnu/local.mk                  |   2 +
>  gnu/services/base.scm         |   4 +-
>  gnu/services/file-systems.scm | 295 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  4 files changed, 651 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
>  create mode 100644 gnu/services/file-systems.scm
>
> diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
> index b3c16e6507..e21c47d7ca 100644
> --- a/doc/guix.texi
> +++ b/doc/guix.texi
> @@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ Copyright @copyright{} 2021 Xinglu Chen@*
>  Copyright @copyright{} 2021 Raghav Gururajan@*
>  Copyright @copyright{} 2021 Domagoj Stolfa@*
>  Copyright @copyright{} 2021 Hui Lu@*
> +Copyright @copyright{} 2021 raid5atemyhomework@*
>
>  Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
>  under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
> @@ -14265,6 +14266,356 @@ a file system declaration such as:
>  compress-force=zstd,space_cache=v2"))
>  @end lisp
>
> +
> +@node ZFS File System
> +@subsection ZFS File System
> +
> +Support for ZFS file systems is provided on Guix by the OpenZFS project.
> +OpenZFS currently only supports Linux-Libre and is not available on the
> +Hurd.
> +
> +OpenZFS is free software; unfortunately its license is incompatible with
> +the GNU General Public License (GPL), the license of the Linux kernel,
> +which means they cannot be distributed together.  However, as a user,
> +you can choose to build ZFS and use it together with Linux; you can
> +even rely on Guix to automate this task.  See
> +@uref{https://www.fsf.org/licensing/zfs-and-linux, this analysis by
> +the Free Software Foundation} for more information.
> +
> +As a large and complex kernel module, OpenZFS has to be compiled for a
> +specific version of Linux-Libre.  At times, the latest OpenZFS package
> +available in Guix is not compatible with the latest Linux-Libre version.
> +Thus, directly installing the @code{zfs} package can fail.
> +
> +Instead, you are recommended to select a specific older long-term-support
> +Linux-Libre kernel.  Do not use @code{linux-libre-lts}, as even the
> +latest long-term-support kernel may be too new for @code{zfs}.  Instead,
> +explicitly select a specific older version, such as @code{linux-libre-5.10},
> +and upgrade it manually later as new long-term-support kernels become
> +available that you have confirmed is compatible with the latest available
> +OpenZFS version on Guix.
> +
> +For example, you can modify your system configuration file to a specific
> +Linux-Libre version and add the @code{zfs-service-type} service.
> +
> +@lisp
> +(use-modules (gnu))
> +(use-package-modules
> +  #;@dots{}
> +  linux)
> +(use-service-modules
> +  #;@dots{}
> +  file-systems)
> +
> +(define my-kernel linux-libre-5.10)
> +
> +(operating-system
> +  (kernel my-kernel)
> +  #;@dots{}
> +  (services
> +    (cons* (service zfs-service-type
> +                    (zfs-configuration
> +                      (kernel my-kernel)))
> +           #;@dots{}
> +           %desktop-services))
> +  #;@dots{})
> +@end lisp
> +
> +@defvr {Scheme Variable} zfs-service-type
> +This is the type for a service that adds ZFS support to your operating
> +system.  The service is configured using a @code{zfs-configuration}
> +record.
> +
> +Here is an example use:
> +
> +@lisp
> +(service zfs-service-type
> +  (zfs-configuration
> +    (kernel linux-libre-5.4)))
> +@end lisp
> +@end defvr
> +
> +@deftp {Data Type} zfs-configuration
> +This data type represents the configuration of the ZFS support in Guix
> +System.  Its fields are:
> +
> +@table @asis
> +@item @code{kernel}
> +The package of the Linux-Libre kernel to compile OpenZFS for.  This field
> +is always required.  It @emph{must} be the same kernel you use in your
> +@code{operating-system} form.
> +
> +@item @code{base-zfs} (default: @code{zfs})
> +The OpenZFS package that will be compiled for the given Linux-Libre kernel.
> +
> +@item @code{base-zfs-auto-snapshot} (default: @code{zfs-auto-snapshot})
> +The @code{zfs-auto-snapshot} package to use.  It will be modified to
> +specifically use the OpenZFS compiled for your kernel.
> +
> +@item @code{dependencies} (default: @code{'()})
> +A list of @code{<file-system>} or @code{<mapped-device>} records that must
> +be mounted or opened before OpenZFS scans for pools to import.  For example,
> +if you have set up LUKS containers as leaf VDEVs in a pool, you have to
> +include their corresponding @code{<mapped-ddevice>} records so that OpenZFS
> +can import the pool correctly at bootup.
> +
> +@item @code{auto-mount?} (default: @code{#t})
> +Whether to mount datasets with the ZFS @code{mountpoint} property automatically
> +at startup.  This is the behavior that ZFS users usually expect.  You might
> +set this to @code{#f} for an operating system intended as a ``rescue'' system
> +that is intended to help debug problems with the disks rather than actually
> +work in production.
> +
> +@item @code{auto-scrub} (default: @code{'weekly})
> +Specifies how often to scrub all pools.  Can be the symbols @code{'weekly} or
> +@code{'monthly}, or a schedule specification understood by
> +@xref{mcron, mcron job specifications,, mcron, GNU@tie{}mcron}, such as
> +@code{"0 3 * * 6"} for ``every 3AM on Saturday''.
> +It can also be @code{#f} to disable auto-scrubbing (@strong{not recommended}).
> +
> +The general guideline is to scrub weekly when using consumer-quality drives, and
> +to scrub monthly when using enterprise-quality drives.
> +
> +@code{'weekly} scrubs are done on Sunday midnight, while @code{monthly} scrubs
> +are done on midnight on the first day of each month.
> +
> +@item @code{auto-snapshot?} (default: @code{#t})
> +Specifies whether to auto-snapshot by default.  If @code{#t}, then snapshots
> +are automatically created except for ZFS datasets with the
> +@code{com.sun:auto-snapshot} ZFS vendor property set to @code{false}.
> +
> +If @code{#f}, snapshots will not be automatically created, unless the ZFS
> +dataset has the @code{com.sun:auto-snapshot} ZFS vendor property set to
> +@code{true}.
> +
> +@item @code{auto-snapshot-keep} (default: @code{'()})
> +Specifies an association list of symbol-number pairs, indicating the number
> +of automatically-created snapshots to retain for each frequency type.
> +
> +If not specified via this field, by default there are 4 @code{frequent}, 24
> +@code{hourly}, 31 @code{daily}, 8 @code{weekly}, and 12 @code{monthly} snapshots.
> +
> +For example:
> +
> +@lisp
> +(zfs-configuration
> +  (kernel my-kernel)
> +  (auto-snapshot-keep
> +    '((frequent . 8)
> +      (hourly . 12))))
> +@end lisp
> +
> +The above will keep 8 @code{frequent} snapshots and 12 @code{hourly} snapshots.
> +@code{daily}, @code{weekly}, and @code{monthly} snapshots will keep their
> +defaults (31 @code{daily}, 8 @code{weekly}, and 12 @code{monthly}).
> +
> +@end table
> +@end deftp

IIUC, there is not way specify ZFS pools in the ‘file-systems’ field of
an <operating-system> record.  Does this mean that ZFS as the root file
system is not supported, and if so, is there a particular reason for
this?

> +
> +@subsubsection ZFS Auto-Snapshot
> +
> +The ZFS service on Guix System supports auto-snapshots as implemented in the
> +Solaris operating system.
> +
> +@code{frequent} (every 15 minutes), @code{hourly}, @code{daily}, @code{weekly},
> +and @code{monthly} snapshots are created automatically for ZFS datasets that
> +have auto-snapshot enabled.  They will be named, for example,
> +@code{zfs-auto-snap_frequent-2021-03-22-1415}.  You can continue to use
> +manually-created snapshots as long as they do not conflict with the naming
> +convention used by auto-snapshot.  You can also safely manually destroy
> +automatically-created snapshots, for example to free up space.
> +
> +The @code{com.sun:auto-snapshot} ZFS property controls auto-snapshot on a
> +per-dataset level.  Sub-datasets will inherit this property from their parent
> +dataset, but can have their own property.
> +
> +You @emph{must} set this property to @code{true} or @code{false} exactly,
> +otherwise it will be treated as if the property is unset.
> +
> +For example:
> +
> +@example
> +# zfs list -o name
> +NAME
> +tank
> +tank/important-data
> +tank/tmp
> +# zfs set com.sun:auto-snapshot=true tank
> +# zfs set com.sun:auto-snapshot=false tank/tmp
> +@end example
> +
> +The above will set @code{tank} and @code{tank/important-data} to be
> +auto-snapshot, while @code{tank/tmp} will not be auto-snapshot.
> +
> +If the @code{com.sun:auto-snapshot} property is not set for a dataset
> +(the default when pools and datasets are created), then whether
> +auto-snapshot is done or not will depend on the @code{auto-snapshot?}
> +field of the @code{zfs-configuration} record.
> +
> +There are also @code{com.sun:auto-snapshot:frequent},
> +@code{com.sun:auto-snapshot:hourly}, @code{com.sun:auto-snapshot:daily},
> +@code{com.sun:auto-snapshot:weekly}, and @code{com.sun:auto-snapshot:monthly}
> +properties that give finer-grained control of whether to auto-snapshot a
> +dataset at a particular schedule.
> +
> +The number of snapshots kept for all datasets can be overridden via the
> +@code{auto-snapshot-keep} field of the @code{zfs-configuration} record.
> +There is currently no support to have different numbers of snapshots to
> +keep for different datasets.
> +
> +@subsubsection ZVOLs
> +
> +ZFS supports ZVOLs, block devices that ZFS exposes to the operating
> +system in the @code{/dev/zvol/} directory.  The ZVOL will have the same
> +resilience and self-healing properties as other datasets on your ZFS pool.
> +ZVOLs can also be snapshotted (and will be included in auto-snapshotting
> +if enabled), which snapshots the state of the block device, effectively
> +snapshotting the hosted file system.
> +
> +You can put any file system inside the ZVOL.  However, in order to mount this
> +file system at system start, you need to add @code{%zfs-zvol-dependency} as a
> +dependency of each file system inside a ZVOL.
> +
> +@defvr {Scheme Variable} %zfs-zvol-dependency
> +An artificial @code{<mapped-device>} which tells the file system mounting
> +service to wait for ZFS to provide ZVOLs before mounting the
> +@code{<file-system>} dependent on it.
> +@end defvr
> +
> +For example, suppose you create a ZVOL and put an ext4 filesystem
> +inside it:
> +
> +@example
> +# zfs create -V 100G tank/ext4-on-zfs
> +# mkfs.ext4 /dev/zvol/tank/ext4-on-zfs
> +# mkdir /ext4-on-zfs
> +# mount /dev/zvol/tank/ext4-on-zfs /ext4-on-zfs
> +@end example
> +
> +You can then set this up to be mounted at boot by adding this to the
> +@code{file-systems} field of your @code{operating-system} record:
> +
> +@lisp
> +(file-system
> +  (device "/dev/zvol/tank/ext4-on-zfs")
> +  (mount-point "/ext4-on-zfs")
> +  (type "ext4")
> +  (dependencies (list %zfs-zvol-dependency)))
> +@end lisp
> +
> +You @emph{must not} add @code{%zfs-zvol-dependency} to your
> +@code{operating-system}'s @code{mapped-devices} field, and you @emph{must
> +not} add it (or any @code{<file-system>}s dependent on it) to the
> +@code{dependencies} field of @code{zfs-configuration}.  Finally, you
> +@emph{must not} use @code{%zfs-zvol-dependency} unless you actually
> +instantiate @code{zfs-service-type} on your system.

I am not familiar with ZVOLs, so I can’t really comment on that.

> +@subsubsection Unsupported Features
> +
> +Some common features and uses of ZFS are currently not supported, or not
> +fully supported, on Guix.
> +
> +@enumerate
> +@item
> +Shepherd-managed daemons that are configured to read from or write to ZFS
> +mountpoints need to include @code{user-processes} in their @code{requirement}
> +field.  This is the earliest that ZFS file systems are assured of being
> +mounted.
> +
> +Generally, most daemons will, directly or indirectly, require
> +@code{networking}, or @code{user-processes}, or both.  Most implementations
> +of @code{networking} will also require @code{user-processes} so daemons that
> +require only @code{networking} will also generally start up after
> +@code{user-processes}.  A notable exception, however, is
> +@code{static-networking-service-type}.  You will need to explicitly add
> +@code{user-processes} as a @code{requirement} of your @code{static-networking}
> +record.
> +
> +@item
> +@code{mountpoint=legacy} ZFS file systems.  The handlers for the Guix mounting
> +system have not yet been modified to support ZFS, and will expect @code{/dev}
> +paths in the @code{<file-system>}'s @code{device} field, but ZFS file systems
> +are referred to via non-path @code{pool/file/system} names.  Such file systems
> +also need to be mounted @emph{after} OpenZFS has scanned for pools.
> +
> +You can still manually mount these file systems after system boot; what is
> +only unsupported is mounting them automatically at system boot by specifying
> +them in @code{<file-system>} records of your @code{operating-system}.
> +
> +@item
> +@code{/home} on ZFS.  Guix will create home directories for users, but this
> +process currently cannot be scheduled after ZFS file systems are mounted.
> +Thus, the ZFS file system might be mounted @emph{after} Guix has created
> +home directories at boot, at which point OpenZFS will refuse to mount since
> +the mountpoint is not empty.  However, you @emph{can} create an ext4, xfs,
> +btrfs, or other supported file system inside a ZVOL, have that depend on
> +@code{%zfs-zvol-dependency}, and set it to mount on the @code{/home}
> +directory; they will be scheduled to mount before the @code{user-homes}
> +process.
> +
> +Similarly, other locations like @code{/var}, @code{/gnu/store} and so
> +on cannot be reliably put in a ZFS file system, though they may be
> +possible to create as other file systems inside ZVOL containers.
> +
> +@item
> +@code{/} and @code{/boot} on ZFS.  These require Guix to expose more of
> +the @code{initrd} very early boot process to services.  It also requires
> +Guix to have the ability to explicitly load modules while still in
> +@code{initrd} (currently kernel modules loaded by
> +@code{kernel-module-loader-service-type} are loaded after @code{/} is
> +mounted).  Further, since one of ZFS's main advantages is that it can
> +continue working despite the loss of one or more devices, it makes sense
> +to also support installing the bootloader on all devices of the pool that
> +contains the @code{/} and @code{/boot}; after all, if ZFS can survive the
> +loss of one device, the bootloader should also be able to survive the loss
> +of one device.

Ah, OK, this answered my previous question.

> +@item
> +ZVOL swap devices.  Mapped swap devices need to be listed in
> +@code{mapped-devices} to ensure they are opened before the system attempts
> +to use them, but you cannot currently add @code{%zfs-zvol-dependency} to
> +@code{mapped-devices}.
> +
> +This will also require significant amounts of testing, as various kernel
> +build options and patches may affect how swapping works, which are possibly
> +different on Guix System compared to other distributions that this feature is
> +known to work on.
> +
> +@item
> +ZFS Event Daemon.  Support for this has not been written yet, patches are
> +welcome.  The main issue is how to design this in a Guix style while
> +supporting legacy shell-script styles as well.  In particular, OpenZFS itself
> +comes with a number of shell scripts intended for ZFS Event Daemon, and we
> +need to figure out how the user can choose to use or not use the provided
> +scripts (and configure any settings they have) or override with their own
> +custom code (which could be shell scripts they have written and trusted from
> +previous ZFS installations).
> +
> +As-is, you can create your own service that activates the ZFS Event Daemon
> +by creating the @file{/etc/zfs/zed} directory and filling it appropriately,
> +then launching @code{zed}.
> +
> +@item
> +@file{/etc/zfs/zpool.cache}.  Currently the ZFS support on Guix always forces
> +scanning of all devices at bootup to look for ZFS pools.  For systems with
> +dozens or hundreds of storage devices, this can lead to slow bootup.  One issue
> +is that tools should really not write to @code{/etc} which is supposed to be for
> +configuration; possibly it could be moved to @code{/var} instead.  Another issue
> +is that if Guix ever supports @code{/} on ZFS, we would need to somehow keep the
> +@code{zpool.cache} file inside the @code{initrd} up-to-date with what is in the
> +@code{/} mount point.
> +
> +@item
> +@code{zfs share}.  This will require some (unknown amount of) work to integrate
> +into the Samba and NFS services of Guix.  You @emph{can} manually set up Samba
> +and NFS to share any mounted ZFS datasets by setting up their configurations
> +properly; it just can't be done for you by @code{zfs share} and the
> +@code{sharesmb} and @code{sharenfs} properties.
> +@end enumerate
> +
> +Hopefully, support for the above only requires code to be written, o users
> +are encouraged to hack on Guix to implement the above features.
> +
>  @node Mapped Devices
>  @section Mapped Devices
>
> diff --git a/gnu/local.mk b/gnu/local.mk
> index b944c671af..a2ff871277 100644
> --- a/gnu/local.mk
> +++ b/gnu/local.mk
> @@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
>  # Copyright © 2021 Philip McGrath <[email-masked]>
>  # Copyright © 2021 Arun Isaac <[email-masked]>
>  # Copyright © 2021 Sharlatan Hellseher <[email-masked]>
> +# Copyright © 2021 raid5atemyhomework <[email-masked]>
>  #
>  # This file is part of GNU Guix.
>  #
> @@ -618,6 +619,7 @@ GNU_SYSTEM_MODULES =				\
>    %D%/services/docker.scm			\
>    %D%/services/authentication.scm		\
>    %D%/services/file-sharing.scm			\
> +  %D%/services/file-systems.scm			\
>    %D%/services/games.scm			\
>    %D%/services/ganeti.scm			\
>    %D%/services/getmail.scm				\
> diff --git a/gnu/services/base.scm b/gnu/services/base.scm
> index ab3e441a7b..bcca24f93a 100644
> --- a/gnu/services/base.scm
> +++ b/gnu/services/base.scm
> @@ -185,7 +185,9 @@
>
>              references-file
>
> -            %base-services))
> +            %base-services
> +
> +            dependency->shepherd-service-name))
>
>  ;;; Commentary:
>  ;;;
> diff --git a/gnu/services/file-systems.scm b/gnu/services/file-systems.scm
> new file mode 100644
> index 0000000000..0b1aae38ac
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/gnu/services/file-systems.scm
> @@ -0,0 +1,295 @@
> +;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
> +;;; Copyright © 2021 raid5atemyhomework <[email-masked]>
> +;;;
> +;;; This file is part of GNU Guix.
> +;;;
> +;;; GNU Guix is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
> +;;; under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
> +;;; the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at
> +;;; your option) any later version.
> +;;;
> +;;; GNU Guix is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
> +;;; WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
> +;;; MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
> +;;; GNU General Public License for more details.
> +;;;
> +;;; You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
> +;;; along with GNU Guix.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
> +
> +(define-module (gnu services file-systems)
> +  #:use-module (gnu packages file-systems)
> +  #:use-module (gnu services)
> +  #:use-module (gnu services base)
> +  #:use-module (gnu services linux)
> +  #:use-module (gnu services mcron)
> +  #:use-module (gnu services shepherd)
> +  #:use-module (gnu system mapped-devices)
> +  #:use-module (guix gexp)
> +  #:use-module (guix packages)
> +  #:use-module (guix records)
> +  #:export (zfs-service-type
> +
> +            zfs-configuration
> +            zfs-configuration?
> +            zfs-configuration-kernel
> +            zfs-configuration-base-zfs
> +            zfs-configuration-base-zfs-auto-snapshot
> +            zfs-configuration-dependencies
> +            zfs-configuration-auto-mount?
> +            zfs-configuration-auto-scrub
> +            zfs-configuration-auto-snapshot?
> +            zfs-configuration-auto-snapshot-keep
> +
> +            %zfs-zvol-dependency))
> +
> +(define-record-type* <zfs-configuration>
> +  zfs-configuration
> +  make-zfs-configuration
> +  zfs-configuration?
> +
> +  ; linux-libre kernel you want to compile the base-zfs module for.
> +  (kernel                     zfs-configuration-kernel)
> +
> +  ; the OpenZFS package that will be modified to compile for the
> +  ; given kernel.
> +  (base-zfs                   zfs-configuration-base-zfs
> +                              (default zfs))

The field name usually just contains the package name, so ‘zfs’ and
‘zfs-auto-snapshot’ instead of ‘base-zfs’ and ‘base-zfs-auto-snapshot’.

> +  ; the zfs-auto-snapshot package that will be modified to compile
> +  ; for the given kernel.
> +  (base-zfs-auto-snapshot     zfs-configuration-base-zfs-auto-snapshot
> +                              (default zfs-auto-snapshot))
> +
> +  ; list of <mapped-device> or <file-system> objects that must be
> +  ; opened/mounted before we import any ZFS pools.
> +  (dependencies               zfs-configuration-dependencies
> +                              (default '()))
> +
> +  ; #t if mountable datasets are to be mounted automatically.
> +  ; #f if not mounting.
> +  ; #t is the expected behavior on other operating systems, the
> +  ; #f is only supported for "rescue" operating systems where
> +  ; the user wants lower-level control of when to mount.
> +  (auto-mount?                zfs-configuration-auto-mount?
> +                              (default #t))
> +
> +  ; 'weekly for weekly scrubbing, 'monthly for monthly scrubbing, an
> +  ; mcron time specification that can be given to `job`, or #f to
> +  ; disable.
> +  (auto-scrub                 zfs-configuration-auto-scrub
> +                              (default 'weekly))
> +
> +  ; #t if auto-snapshot is default (and `com.sun:auto-snapshot=false`
> +  ; disables auto-snapshot per dataset), #f if no auto-snapshotting
> +  ; is default (and `com.sun:auto-snapshot=true` enables auto-snapshot
> +  ; per dataset).
> +  (auto-snapshot?             zfs-configuration-auto-snapshot?
> +                              (default #t))
> +
> +  ; association list of symbol-number pairs to indicate the number
> +  ; of automatic snapshots to keep for each of 'frequent, 'hourly,
> +  ; 'daily, 'weekly, and 'monthly.
> +  ; e.g. '((frequent . 8) (hourly . 12))
> +  (auto-snapshot-keep         zfs-configuration-auto-snapshot-keep
> +                              (default '())))
> +
> +(define %default-auto-snapshot-keep
> +  '((frequent . 4)
> +    (hourly . 24)
> +    (daily . 31)
> +    (weekly . 8)
> +    (monthly . 12)))
> +
> +(define %auto-snapshot-mcron-schedule
> +  '((frequent .  "0,15,30,45 * * * *")
> +    (hourly .    "0 * * * *")
> +    (daily .     "0 0 * * *")
> +    (weekly .    "0 0 * * 7")
> +    (monthly .   "0 0 1 * *")))
> +
> +;; A synthetic and unusable MAPPED-DEVICE intended for use when
> +;; the user has created a mountable filesystem inside a ZFS
> +;; zvol and wants it mounted inside the configuration.scm.
> +(define %zfs-zvol-dependency
> +  (mapped-device
> +    (source '())
> +    (targets '("zvol/*"))
> +    (type #f)))
> +
> +(define (make-zfs-package conf)
> +  (let ((kernel    (zfs-configuration-kernel conf))
> +        (base-zfs  (zfs-configuration-base-zfs conf)))
> +    (package
> +      (inherit base-zfs)
> +      (arguments (cons* #:linux kernel
> +                        (package-arguments base-zfs))))))
> +
> +(define (make-zfs-auto-snapshot-package conf)
> +  (let ((zfs                    (make-zfs-package conf))
> +        (base-zfs-auto-snapshot (zfs-configuration-base-zfs-auto-snapshot conf)))
> +    (package
> +      (inherit base-zfs-auto-snapshot)
> +      (inputs `(("zfs" ,zfs))))))
> +
> +(define (zfs-loadable-modules conf)
> +  (list (list (make-zfs-package conf) "module")))
> +
> +(define (zfs-shepherd-services conf)
> +  (let* ((zfs-package     (make-zfs-package conf))
> +         (zpool           (file-append zfs-package "/sbin/zpool"))
> +         (zfs             (file-append zfs-package "/sbin/zfs"))
> +         (zvol_wait       (file-append zfs-package "/bin/zvol_wait"))
> +         (scheme-modules  `((srfi srfi-1)
> +                            (srfi srfi-34)
> +                            (srfi srfi-35)
> +                            (rnrs io ports)
> +                            ,@%default-modules)))
> +    (define zfs-scan
> +      (shepherd-service
> +        (provision '(zfs-scan))
> +        (requirement `(root-file-system
> +                       kernel-module-loader
> +                       udev
> +                       ,@(map dependency->shepherd-service-name
> +                              (zfs-configuration-dependencies conf))))
> +        (documentation "Scans for and imports ZFS pools.")
> +        (modules scheme-modules)
> +        (start #~(lambda _
> +                   (guard (c ((message-condition? c)
> +                              (format (current-error-port)
> +                                      "zfs: error importing pools: ~s~%"
> +                                      (condition-message c))
> +                              #f))
> +                     ; TODO: optionally use a cachefile.
> +                     (invoke #$zpool "import" "-a" "-N"))))
> +        ;; Why not one-shot?  Because we don't really want to rescan
> +        ;; this each time a requiring process is restarted, as scanning
> +        ;; can take a long time and a lot of I/O.
> +        (stop #~(const #f))))
> +
> +    (define device-mapping-zvol/*
> +      (shepherd-service
> +        (provision '(device-mapping-zvol/*))
> +        (requirement '(zfs-scan))
> +        (documentation "Waits for all ZFS ZVOLs to be opened.")
> +        (modules scheme-modules)
> +        (start #~(lambda _
> +                   (guard (c ((message-condition? c)
> +                              (format (current-error-port)
> +                                      "zfs: error opening zvols: ~s~%"
> +                                      (condition-message c))
> +                              #f))
> +                     (invoke #$zvol_wait))))
> +        (stop #~(const #f))))
> +
> +    (define zfs-auto-mount
> +      (shepherd-service
> +        (provision '(zfs-auto-mount))
> +        (requirement '(zfs-scan))
> +        (documentation "Mounts all non-legacy mounted ZFS filesystems.")
> +        (modules scheme-modules)
> +        (start #~(lambda _
> +                   (guard (c ((message-condition? c)
> +                              (format (current-error-port)
> +                                      "zfs: error mounting file systems: ~s~%"
> +                                      (condition-message c))
> +                              #f))
> +                     ;; Output to current-error-port, otherwise the
> +                     ;; user will not see any prompts for passwords
> +                     ;; of encrypted datasets.
> +                     ;; XXX Maybe better to explicitly open /dev/console ?

Seeing this comment, I assume that encrypted pools are supported, right?

> +                     (with-output-to-port (current-error-port)
> +                       (lambda ()
> +                         (invoke #$zfs "mount" "-a" "-l"))))))
> +        (stop #~(lambda _
> +                  ;; Make sure that Shepherd does not have a CWD that
> +                  ;; is a mounted ZFS filesystem, which would prevent
> +                  ;; unmounting.
> +                  (chdir "/")
> +                  (invoke #$zfs "unmount" "-a" "-f")))))
> +
> +    `(,zfs-scan
> +      ,device-mapping-zvol/*
> +      ,@(if (zfs-configuration-auto-mount? conf)
> +            `(,zfs-auto-mount)
> +            '()))))
> +
> +(define (zfs-user-processes conf)
> +  (if (zfs-configuration-auto-mount? conf)
> +      '(zfs-auto-mount)
> +      '(zfs-scan)))
> +
> +(define (zfs-mcron-auto-snapshot-jobs conf)
> +  (let* ((user-auto-snapshot-keep      (zfs-configuration-auto-snapshot-keep conf))
> +         ;; assoc-ref has earlier entries overriding later ones.
> +         (auto-snapshot-keep           (append user-auto-snapshot-keep
> +                                               %default-auto-snapshot-keep))
> +         (auto-snapshot?               (zfs-configuration-auto-snapshot? conf))
> +         (zfs-auto-snapshot-package    (make-zfs-auto-snapshot-package conf))
> +         (zfs-auto-snapshot            (file-append zfs-auto-snapshot-package
> +                                                    "/sbin/zfs-auto-snapshot")))
> +    (map
> +      (lambda (label)
> +        (let ((keep   (assoc-ref auto-snapshot-keep label))
> +              (sched  (assoc-ref %auto-snapshot-mcron-schedule label)))
> +          #~(job '#$sched
> +                 (string-append #$zfs-auto-snapshot
> +                                " --quiet --syslog "
> +                                " --label=" #$(symbol->string label)
> +                                " --keep=" #$(number->string keep)
> +                                " //"))))
> +      '(frequent hourly daily weekly monthly))))

Maybe use something like

  (map first %default-auto-snapshot-keep)

to avoid having to changing it if things change in the future.

> +(define (zfs-mcron-auto-scrub-jobs conf)
> +  (let* ((zfs-package    (make-zfs-package conf))
> +         (zpool          (file-append zfs-package "/sbin/zpool"))
> +         (auto-scrub     (zfs-configuration-auto-scrub conf))
> +         (sched          (cond
> +                           ((eq? auto-scrub 'weekly)  "0 0 * * 7")
> +                           ((eq? auto-scrub 'monthly) "0 0 1 * *")
> +                           (else                      auto-scrub))))
> +    (list
> +      #~(job '#$sched
> +             ;; Suppress errors: if there are no ZFS pools, the
> +             ;; scrub will not be given any arguments, which makes
> +             ;; it error out.
> +             (string-append "(" #$zpool " scrub `" #$zpool " list -o name -H` "
> +                            "> /dev/null 2>&1) "
> +                            "|| exit 0")))))
> +
> +(define (zfs-mcron-jobs conf)
> +  (append (zfs-mcron-auto-snapshot-jobs conf)
> +          (if (zfs-configuration-auto-scrub conf)
> +              (zfs-mcron-auto-scrub-jobs conf)
> +              '())))
> +
> +(define zfs-service-type
> +  (service-type
> +    (name 'zfs)
> +    (extensions
> +      (list ;; Install OpenZFS kernel module into kernel profile.
> +            (service-extension linux-loadable-module-service-type
> +                               zfs-loadable-modules)
> +            ;; And load it.
> +            (service-extension kernel-module-loader-service-type
> +                               (const '("zfs")))
> +            ;; Make sure ZFS pools and datasets are mounted at
> +            ;; boot.
> +            (service-extension shepherd-root-service-type
> +                               zfs-shepherd-services)
> +            ;; Make sure user-processes don't start until
> +            ;; after ZFS does.
> +            (service-extension user-processes-service-type
> +                               zfs-user-processes)
> +            ;; Install automated scrubbing and snapshotting.
> +            (service-extension mcron-service-type
> +                               zfs-mcron-jobs)
> +
> +            ;; Install ZFS management commands in the system
> +            ;; profile.
> +            (service-extension profile-service-type
> +                               (compose list make-zfs-package))
> +            ;; Install ZFS udev rules.
> +            (service-extension udev-service-type
> +                               (compose list make-zfs-package))))
> +    (description "Installs ZFS, an advanced filesystem and volume manager.")))
> --
> 2.31.1

I haven’t tested anything, but the rest looks good!  :-)