From: Zooko O'Whielacronx Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:12:57 +0000 (-0800) Subject: docs: update relnotes.txt for Tahoe-LAFS v1.6 X-Git-Tag: trac-4200~4 X-Git-Url: https://git.rkrishnan.org/simplejson/provisioning?a=commitdiff_plain;h=302e457faae7ccc15e38138772965c2530b665e5;p=tahoe-lafs%2Ftahoe-lafs.git docs: update relnotes.txt for Tahoe-LAFS v1.6 --- diff --git a/relnotes.txt b/relnotes.txt index 3ebce0cc..4916d428 100644 --- a/relnotes.txt +++ b/relnotes.txt @@ -1,85 +1,87 @@ -ANNOUNCING Tahoe, the Lofty-Atmospheric Filesystem, v1.6 +ANNOUNCING Tahoe, the Least-Authority File System, v1.6 The Tahoe-LAFS team is pleased to announce the immediate -availability of version 1.6 of Tahoe, the Lofty Atmospheric -File System. +availability of version 1.6 of Tahoe-LAFS, an extremely +reliable distributed key-value store and cloud storage system. -Tahoe-LAFS is the first cloud storage technology which offers -security and privacy in the sense that the cloud storage -service provider itself can't read or alter your data. Here is -the one-page explanation of its unique security and -fault-tolerance properties: +Tahoe-LAFS is the first cloud storage system which offers +"provider-independent security" -- meaning the privacy and +security of your data is not dependent on the behavior of your +cloud service provider. Here is the one-page explanation of its +unique security and fault-tolerance properties: http://allmydata.org/source/tahoe/trunk/docs/about.html -This release is the successor to v1.4.1, which was released -April 13, 2009 [1]. This is a major new release, improving the -user interface and performance and fixing a few bugs, and -adding ports to OpenBSD, NetBSD, ArchLinux, NixOS, and embedded -systems built on ARM CPUs. See the NEWS file [2] for more -information. - -In addition to the functionality of Tahoe-LAFS itself, a crop -of related projects have sprung up to extend it and to -integrate it into operating systems and applications. These -include frontends for Windows, Macintosh, JavaScript, and -iPhone, and plugins for duplicity, bzr, Hadoop, and TiddlyWiki, -and more. See the Related Projects page on the wiki [3]. - - -COMPATIBILITY - -Version 1.6 is fully compatible with the version 1 series of -Tahoe-LAFS. Files written by v1.6 clients can be read by -clients of all versions back to v1.0. v1.6 clients can read -files produced by clients of all versions since v1.0. v1.6 -servers can serve clients of all versions back to v1.0 and v1.6 -clients can use servers of all versions back to v1.0. - -In addition, version 1.6 improves forward-compatibility with -planned future cap formats, allowing updates to a directory -containing both current and future caps, without loss of -information. - -This is the seventh major release in the version 1 series. The -version 1 series of Tahoe-LAFS will be actively supported and -maintained for the forseeable future, and future versions of -Tahoe-LAFS will retain the ability to read and write files -compatible with Tahoe-LAFS v1. +Tahoe-LAFS v1.6.0 is the successor to v1.5.0, which was +released August 1, 2009 [1]. In this major new release, we've +added deep-immutable directories (i.e. permanent snapshots), +greatly increased performance for some common operations, and +improved the help text, documentation, command-line options, +and web user interface. The FUSE plugin has been fixed. We also +fixed a few bugs. See the NEWS file [2] for details. -The version 1 series of Tahoe-LAFS is the basis of the consumer -backup product from Allmydata, Inc. -- http://allmydata.com . +In addition to the core storage system itself, a crop of +related projects have sprung up to extend it and to integrate +it into operating systems and applications. These include +frontends for Windows, Macintosh, JavaScript, and iPhone, and +plugins for Hadoop, bzr, duplicity, TiddlyWiki, and more. See +the Related Projects page on the wiki [3]. WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? -With Tahoe-LAFS, you can distribute your filesystem across a -set of servers, such that if some of them fail or even turn out -to be malicious, the entire filesystem continues to be -available. You can share your files with other users, using a -simple and flexible access control scheme. +With Tahoe-LAFS, you distribute your filesystem across multiple +servers, and even if some of the servers fail or are taken over +by an attacker, the entire filesystem continues to work +correctly, and continues to preserve your privacy and +security. You can easily and securely share chosen files and +directories with others. We believe that the combination of erasure coding, strong encryption, Free/Open Source Software and careful engineering make Tahoe-LAFS safer than RAID, removable drive, tape, on-line backup or other Cloud storage systems. -This software comes with extensive tests, and there are no -known security flaws which would compromise confidentiality or -data integrity in typical use. (For all currently known issues -please see the known_issues.txt file [4].) +This software is developed under thorough unit tests, and there +are no known bugs or security flaws which would compromise +confidentiality or data integrity under normal use. (For all +currently known issues please see the known_issues.txt file +[4].) + + +COMPATIBILITY + +This release is fully compatible with the version 1 series of +Tahoe-LAFS. Clients from this release can write files and +directories in the format used by clients of all versions back +to v1.0 (which was released March 25, 2008). Clients from this +release can read files and directories produced by clients of +all versions since v1.0. Servers from this release can serve +clients of all versions back to v1.0 and clients from this +release can use servers of all versions back to v1.0. + +This is the seventh release in the version 1 series. The +version 1 series of Tahoe-LAFS will be actively supported and +maintained for the forseeable future, and future versions of +Tahoe-LAFS will retain the ability to read and write files +compatible with Tahoe-LAFS v1. + +In addition, version 1.6 improves forward-compatibility with +planned future cap formats, allowing updates to a directory +containing both current and future caps, without loss of +information. LICENCE You may use this package under the GNU General Public License, -version 2 or, at your option, any later version. See the file +version 2 or, at your option, any later version. See the file "COPYING.GPL" [5] for the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 2. You may use this package under the Transitive Grace Period Public Licence, version 1 or, at your option, any later -version. (The Transitive Grace Period Public Licence has +version. (The Transitive Grace Period Public Licence has requirements similar to the GPL except that it allows you to wait for up to twelve months after you redistribute a derived work before releasing the source code of your derived work.) @@ -93,16 +95,16 @@ licence, at your option.) INSTALLATION Tahoe-LAFS works on Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Cygwin, Solaris, -*BSD, and probably most other systems. Start with +*BSD, and probably most other systems. Start with "docs/install.html" [7]. HACKING AND COMMUNITY -Please join us on the mailing list [8]. Patches are gratefully +Please join us on the mailing list [8]. Patches are gratefully accepted -- the RoadMap page [9] shows the next improvements that we plan to make and CREDITS [10] lists the names of people -who've contributed to the project. The Dev page [11] contains +who've contributed to the project. The Dev page [11] contains resources for hackers. @@ -110,41 +112,30 @@ SPONSORSHIP Tahoe-LAFS was originally developed thanks to the sponsorship of Allmydata, Inc. [12], a provider of commercial backup -services. Allmydata, Inc. created the Tahoe-LAFS project and +services. Allmydata, Inc. created the Tahoe-LAFS project and contributed hardware, software, ideas, bug reports, suggestions, demands, and money (employing several Tahoe-LAFS hackers and instructing them to spend part of their work time -on this Free Software project). Also they awarded customized +on this Free Software project). Also they awarded customized t-shirts to hackers who found security flaws in Tahoe-LAFS (see http://hacktahoe.org ). After discontinuing funding of Tahoe-LAFS R&D in early 2009, Allmydata, Inc. has continued to -provide servers, co-lo space and bandwidth to the open source -project. Thank you to Allmydata, Inc. for their generous and -public-spirited support. +provide servers, co-lo space, bandwidth, and thank-you gifts to +the open source project. Thank you to Allmydata, Inc. for their +generous and public-spirited support. -This is the second release of Tahoe-LAFS which was created -solely as a labor of love by volunteers; developer time is no -longer funded by allmydata.com (see [13] for details). +This is the third release of Tahoe-LAFS to be created solely as +a labor of love by volunteers. Thank you very much to the +dedicated team of "hackers in the public interest" who make +Tahoe-LAFS possible. Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn on behalf of the Tahoe-LAFS team -Special acknowledgment goes to Brian Warner, whose superb -engineering skills and dedication are primarily responsible for -the Tahoe implementation, and significantly responsible for the -Tahoe design as well, not to mention most of the docs and -tests. Tahoe-LAFS wouldn't exist without him. - -August 1, 2009 +January 31 2010 Boulder, Colorado, USA -P.S. Just kidding about that acronym. "LAFS" actually stands -for "Lightweight Authorization File System". Or possibly for -"Least-Authority File System". There is no truth to the rumour -that it actually stands for "Long-lived Axe-tolerant File -System". - -[1] http://allmydata.org/trac/tahoe/browser/relnotes.txt?rev=3853 +[1] http://allmydata.org/trac/tahoe/browser/relnotes.txt?rev=4042 [2] http://allmydata.org/trac/tahoe/browser/NEWS?rev=4033 [3] http://allmydata.org/trac/tahoe/wiki/RelatedProjects [4] http://allmydata.org/trac/tahoe/browser/docs/known_issues.txt @@ -156,4 +147,3 @@ System". [10] http://allmydata.org/trac/tahoe/browser/CREDITS?rev=4035 [11] http://allmydata.org/trac/tahoe/wiki/Dev [12] http://allmydata.com -[13] http://allmydata.org/pipermail/tahoe-dev/2009-March/001461.html