Is it possible to run OpenZFS on MacOS Sierra on a Mac Pro

Question

I have a Mac Pro with a PCIe flash startup drive running MacOS Sierra. I would like to fill the 4 empty SATA HDD bays with drives and use OpenZFS to create a pool/volume.

1. Is this configuration possible?
2. What risks/issues might I face with this setup? For example, how might macOS updates affect accessing my ZFS data pool?

I'm open to using MacOS Sierra's RAID tools, but I prefer to use the ZFS file system for this due to its superior data protection and compression features.

Answer 1

Based on the links from other users, it seems that it is possible to create a ZFS RAID in the configuration I am looking for.

However for me, the OpenZFS system is not yet mature enough to be my solution on macOS Sierra for these reasons:

1. Cannot backup ZFS volume using Time Machine
2. The Photos application, which is dependent on HFS, only "sometimes" works.

See the Interoperability and Limitations section here:

https://openzfsonosx.org/wiki/FAQ

Answer 2

Yes it is: I am using zfs, including after upgrading to High Sierra and after updating zfs a few times.

After updating macOS I vaguely recall reinstalling zfs for this version of macOS (and possibly uninstalling it first--fairly certain I followed the directions associated with the installer or in the wiki), and then later as zfs was updated installed the newer release. I was prompted to upgrade the zpool in the normal course of using my external drive (when I did sudo zpool import -a -f).