Side by side
Hadoop Distributed File System vs OpenAFS
Both stand on distributed file system software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APILinuxMac+2
HDFS is intended for large-scale distributed storage and throughput-focused processing, with administration, authentication, and encryption options. Its workload fit is less suitable when low latency is the priority.
Visit Hadoop Distributed File System Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1
OpenAFS offers distributed file access with replication, caching and Kerberos-based authentication. Its documented transmission-encryption limitation for fs, pts and vos commands is important to consider.
Visit OpenAFSThe facts
| Hadoop Distributed File System | OpenAFS | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows | Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | hadoop.apache.org | openafs.org |
| On distributed file system software | #4 of 32 | #8 of 32 |
Hadoop Distributed File System: what it does well
- Designed for fault tolerance on commodity hardware
- Supports high-throughput streaming and batch processing
- Offers REST access through WebHDFS
- Configured encryption covers data at rest and in transit
- Free under Apache License 2.0
What to know first
- Designed for high throughput rather than low latency
- Tuned for gigabyte-to-terabyte files
- Support is through volunteer-maintained project mailing lists
OpenAFS: what it does well
- Free and open-source under the IBM Public License.
- Supports federated sharing and read-only replication.
- Pathnames remain usable after files move.
- Kerberos authentication and directory access controls.
- Available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
What to know first
- Commands in fs, pts and vos suites do not encrypt transmitted data.
- Administrators assign each volume a size limit or quota.
- Self-hosted deployment is listed.
Alternatives to Hadoop Distributed File System Alternatives to OpenAFS The whole list