> Because Append is the way to go and we've moved the Linux zoned block > I/O stack to required it, Just to add some historical context: The first discussions about how to support block devices with a non-random write model in Linux happened maybe a decade ago. Drive vendors came to LSF/MM to solicit feedback on how Linux could support impending SMR devices. We spent a long time going over various approaches, including some that are similar to what is now being entertained as alternative to Append. The conclusion back then was that an Append-like model (tell-us-where-you-put-it) was the only reasonable way to accommodate these devices in Linux given how our filesystems and I/O stack worked. Consequently, I don't think it is at all unreasonable for us to focus on devices that implement that mode of operation in the kernel. This is exactly the that we as a community asked the storage industry to provide! -- Martin K. Petersen Oracle Linux Engineering
