First, my idea is to create an encrypted ZFS pool on USB hard drive (using SATA to USB 3.0 converter). My questions are:
- Is there a single ZFS implementation of the filesystem for FreeBSD? There's the Sun/Oracle version and more recently the OpenZFS "version". Are those the same in terms of perfect interoperability, or one pool created with one can have issues mounted with the another driver? Can I choose which version so use on FreeBSD or there's only one? If there's only one version which one it is?
- A filesystem created by OpenZFS on FreeBSD can work perfectly fine on Linux and vice-versa?
- What are the recommended setting for creating a pool/dataset to backup files from Windows? Encryption, encoding (if any) for filenames, maximum filename length and subdirectories depth, auto-generate or not hashed for files, etc.
- If the SATA spinning drive is connected to USB using external case, what about S.M.A.R.T. and disk integrity capabilities? Is is required or mandatory to connect the drive to internal SATA port? That wouldn't be possible for 3.5" drives on certain notebooks, max 2.5".