MooseFS 4.57.7 Released: Faster GUI and Prometheus Support

July 3rd, 2025 | MooseFS Team

We are pleased to announce the release of MooseFS 4.57.7, a version that introduces major architectural improvements with a focus on performance, observability, and maintainability. This release brings a significant evolution in how MooseFS is managed and monitored – particularly through a complete overhaul of the Web GUI and a new foundation for metrics collection.

While much of the work in this version is technical in nature, administrators and users will benefit from a smoother experience, better diagnostics, and more efficient resource usage. The changes also prepare MooseFS for future extensibility and integrations.

Reengineered GUI: New Server, Unified Package, and Faster Response

One of the most visible – and impactful – changes in MooseFS 4.57.7 is the complete replacement of the legacy Web GUI server.

The old GUI architecture consisted of two components: mfscgi and mfscgiserv, both based on Python scripts. These have now been replaced by a new, dedicated GUI server written in C, introduced as part of the new mfsgui package.

This new GUI server brings several key improvements:

Improved performance: Users will notice much faster loading times, especially in charts and tables.
Simplified configuration: Settings are now handled through a proper configuration file (/etc/mfsgui.cfg), replacing the previous method of editing inline HTML content.
Visual consistency: The overall appearance of the GUI remains familiar, but various refinements have been made for improved usability. Tabs have been reorganized, and several tables have been cleaned up and restyled for clarity.

The GUI has also been refactored internally to support these changes and to make future improvements easier to implement.

Prometheus Metrics Integration

Another major enhancement in this release is native support for Prometheus-compatible metrics. Metrics are now directly available from the new GUI server without impacting the performance or availability of the interface.

This change allows administrators to seamlessly integrate MooseFS into their existing monitoring and observability pipelines – no third-party exporters or workarounds required.

Internal Refactors and Technical Improvements

In addition to visible changes, MooseFS 4.57.7 includes several internal updates aimed at improving code quality, maintainability, and stability across core components.

Client Code Improvement

We replaced the use of a potentially unsafe sprintf() function in client code. While the original use was not exploitable, the change was made to eliminate warnings on macOS and to follow modern safe coding practices.

CLI Refactor

The command-line interface code was reorganised into multiple Python modules to improve maintainability. There are no functional changes for end users – this refactor is internal and backward-compatible.

Daemon and Master Enhancements

A rare and long-standing bug in lock handling within the MooseFS master has been fixed. This issue only manifested under complex operation sequences and was reported in GitHub issue.
A defensive check was added in the daemons to handle an edge case where poll() might return zero. This scenario is highly unlikely but now safely accounted for.
An issue with disabling the Linux Out-of-Memory (OOM) killer has been resolved. The error-handling logic was previously misinterpreting return values, and the disabling operation was being performed incorrectly. This fix was prompted by an insightful community question in GitHub Discussions.

Upgrade Notes

Users upgrading to MooseFS 4.57.7 should take note of the following:

Uninstall mfscgi and mfscgiserv if present, and install mfsgui in their place.
Move GUI-related configuration to the new /etc/mfsgui.cfg file. Legacy configuration embedded in HTML is no longer used.
If you are using Prometheus or planning to, configure your monitoring system to collect metrics directly from the GUI server.

No changes are required for CLI usage or client interactions beyond standard package upgrades.

Conclusion

MooseFS 4.57.7 brings meaningful improvements to system transparency, configuration management, and long-term stability. By replacing the legacy Python GUI with a purpose-built C implementation, we’ve significantly improved speed and flexibility – while laying the groundwork for future enhancements.

We recommend all users upgrade to this version to benefit from its improvements and to ensure compatibility with upcoming features.

If you have feedback or questions, feel free to join the discussion on GitHub or contact us directly.

MooseFS 4.57.6 Released – Key Fixes and Improvements

April 4th, 2025 | MooseFS Team

We are excited to announce the release of MooseFS 4.57.6! This update brings crucial bug fixes and enhancements to improve stability and functionality across the system. If you’re using MooseFS, this release is highly recommended to ensure optimal performance and reliability.

What’s New in MooseFS 4.57.6?

Storage Classes Enhancements

Storage classes in MooseFS are essential for efficient data management. This update corrects a definition error where the * (wildcard) was missing from default storage classes in Erasure Coding (EC). While this could have led to unintended behaviour, no practical failures were observed. Additionally, we’ve refined the description of default storage classes for better clarity and usability.

System Stability and Recovery Improvements

Improved `csipmap` Initialization

The mfsipmap.cfg file now loads correctly on both reload and (re)start, ensuring seamless startup configurations.

Enhanced Chunk Recovery Conditions

We’ve addressed a situation affecting Erasure Coded (EC) chunks, where they were not readable if one Chunkserver (CS) was offline. This improvement enhances data reliability and read operations.

Lock Handling Fixes

MooseFS 4.57.6 resolves a problem where packets containing both posix_locks and flocks were invalid. This fix enhances file-locking mechanisms and ensures compatibility with different locking methods.

New Documentation Updates

We’ve added a manpage for the mfsmount.cfg configuration file, making it easier for users to understand and configure mounting options in MooseFS.

Upgrade Now!

This release includes important fixes and improvements that enhance stability and functionality. We strongly encourage upgrading to take advantage of these enhancements and ensure a more reliable experience.

We value your feedback! Let us know your thoughts on this update and feel free to report any concerns or suggestions. You can also check out our GitHub repository for more details, contributions, and issue tracking at GitHub MooseFS.

MooseFS 4 Community Edition is Here!

September 25th, 2024 | MooseFS Team

We are thrilled to announce the release of the highly anticipated MooseFS 4.x Community Edition!

As an open-source solution, this new version brings an impressive array of exciting new features and enhancements that our community has been eagerly asking about. MooseFS 4.x introduces significant improvements over the previous 3.x version, offering powerful new capabilities and more efficient data storage solutions that address the needs of modern data environments.

We have a long-standing and strong commitment to the open-source community. Since 2005 we have been passionately involved in supporting and contributing to open-source initiatives. Our philosophy is to provide this superb tool to everyone who wants to use it, as we firmly believe in the power of open-source software and the strength of the community. By making MooseFS 4.x available to all, we continue to uphold our dedication to openness, collaboration, and the shared pursuit of technological innovation.

Erasure Coding and Space Optimisation

One of the most notable new features in MooseFS 4.x is the introduction of Erasure Coding (EC) in an 8+1 as well as 4+1 format. This innovative coding approach allows for significant space savings without compromising data integrity or protection. In traditional replication methods, data chunks are typically stored in multiple copies, which can occupy a substantial amount of space; for example, storing a chunk in 2 copies would normally use 200% of the required storage capacity. With the new EC8+1 coding format, you can achieve a comparable level of data protection while using only about 112.5% of the space needed for the actual data, and with EC4+1, 125%. This approach allows for more efficient data storage with significantly reduced overhead compared to non-Erasure Coding solutions, making MooseFS 4.x an excellent choice for data-intensive open-source applications.

New features and enhancements in MooseFS 4.x

The new chunk format includes better handling of control sums, which enhances data integrity and system reliability. We have also revamped the web-based interface, providing more detailed information, numerous new charts for monitoring, and an overall improved charting system that offers better insights into system performance. MooseFS 4.x introduces new multilan configuration options that allow clients in different LANs to communicate with the master within their IP class, enhancing network efficiency and performance.

The IP remapping feature in MooseFS 4.x has been significantly enhanced with the introduction of a more flexible remap file. This new configuration allows for full custom IP-to-IP remapping, enabling users to define completely custom mappings between IP addresses rather than being limited to the fixed remapping of leading bits as in previous versions. This improvement provides greater control over network configurations, making it easier to adapt MooseFS to complex network environments and specific infrastructure needs.

MooseFS 4.x also includes new configuration options that allow users to define flags and set limits for disks storing chunks, particularly when these disks are shared with other processes. This improvement enables more accurate calculation of occupied and available space, optimizing storage efficiency. Additionally, a new tool has been introduced for offline searching of metadata files based on conditions like chunk IDs, inodes, and attributes, greatly enhancing the ability to manage and locate specific data within the system.

The logging system in MooseFS 4.x has been significantly improved to enhance clarity and control. Log messages are now categorized by severity levels, allowing users to configure what should be logged and how these logs are reported to syslog. Additionally, there are numerous other new features and improvements in this version, such as enhanced tools for ACL handling, a new chunk format with better control sum management, and a variety of updates to existing algorithms that make MooseFS faster, more efficient, and less prone to errors in edge cases. With improvements in metadata handling, a new web-based interface for better monitoring, and expanded configuration options, MooseFS 4.x is designed to deliver a more powerful and flexible storage solution for our community. These enhancements are just the tip of the iceberg, with many other quality-of-life improvements aimed at making your data management experience smoother and more efficient.

More details

For more detailed information, be sure to check the release notes for the latest version, which include updates, new features, and bug fixes. You can explore the complete project code, contribute to development, or report issues directly on the project’s GitHub repository.

Looking Ahead

MooseFS 4.x represents a significant leap forward in our ongoing commitment to delivering robust, efficient, and user-friendly distributed file system solutions to our community. This new version not only introduces cutting-edge features and enhancements but also maintains the exceptional stability, ease of use, and manageability that users have come to rely on from previous versions. MooseFS continues to offer a dependable and intuitive solution for managing data storage, combining advanced capabilities with a user-friendly experience.

We are excited to see how these new features and improvements will empower our users to better manage their data storage needs. As always, we welcome feedback and encourage our community to explore these new capabilities to their fullest potential. Your input helps us to continually refine MooseFS and ensure it meets the evolving demands of our users.

MooseFS PRO

If you are looking for high availability (HA) for master servers, improved disk space management with enhanced data protection through EC configurations with higher redundancy levels, and dedicated support, we also offer the MooseFS PRO version. This version is designed for enterprise environments where uptime and data integrity are critical, providing features like automatic failover for master servers, more advanced erasure coding for greater resilience against hardware failures, and professional support services to ensure smooth operation and rapid issue resolution. MooseFS PRO adds an extra layer of reliability and optimisation for those managing large-scale, mission-critical storage systems.

Stay tuned!

Stay tuned for upcoming updates! Where we’ll continue to enhance the project with new features, improvements, and fixes. Be sure to follow the repository to receive notifications on the latest changes.

MooseFS 3.0.100 Stable Release

January 25th, 2018 | MooseFS Team

We are proud to announce, that MooseFS 3.0.100 has been released as stable today! This version includes support of Debian 9 (Stretch) and Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, as well as many other crucial fixes.

MooseFS 3.0.97 Stable Release

August 1st, 2017 | Piotr Konopelko

We are proud to announce, that MooseFS 3.0.97 has been released as stable today! This version fixes trash/sustained size desynchronization after file length is changed due to chunk creation and also handles invalid arguments in the POSIX lock command.

Please find the most recent changes on MooseFS 3 on GitHub.

If you like MooseFS, please provide your support by starring it on GitHub. You can also give your valuable suggestions by opening an issue on GitHub.

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