Improve GUI listing performance with pre-knowledge filters

[BuddyButterfly]

Hi,

my feature request is such that the GUI performance especially in listing functionality through utilizing filters based on pre-knowledge. This means the users request normally is not "Give me all data" but it is like "I want to see all datasets / snapshots from this hierarchy node (this and that dataset)".

My experience at the moment is such that there are 2 views for traversing the fs hierarchy which are very similar. Most of the users will use the storage view I guess. So the tree view is there hangig around quite useless ;-). Not really useless but I would like to make more sense out of it.

Proposal:

1. Use the tree view of the datasets as filter for the datasets in the storage display (maybe switchable with option box). Then, when a specific dataset in the tree is selected, it will show the datasets of this selected dataset in the storage view.
2. Only show 1 level of datasets below the selected dataset (in the tree view, not recursively!). This can be easily achieved with a parameter to the zfs command.
3. Same functionality should be used for snapshots! If a dataset is selected in the tree view, use it
   to show only the snapshots of this dataset (not recursively).

For reference and for testing of the speed of response, here are the statements to list only the datasets below a specific dataset and same for snapshots. This will list all datasets and snapshots that are direct children of dataset2:

Code:

Datasets:
    zfs list -r -d 1 pool/dataset1/dataset2
 
Snapshots:
    zfs list -r -d 1 -t snapshot pool/dataset1/dataset2

The path pool/dataset1/dataset2 is what comes as pre-knowledge filter and will be derived from the selection in the tree view.

This change will speed up things tremendously for listing datasets and snapshots (especially snapshots, when having thousands of them).

What do you think?

Edit:
As per the last reply from Ericloewe to

http://forums.freenas.org/index.php...l-auto-20131006-010000s1-error-6.21675/page-2

I would like to also give a suggestion to aling the naming and navigation tree
more to the naming conventions of ZFS:

Structure of navigation tree:

Code:

Storage
    Pools
        pool1
            datasets
            volumes
        pool2
            datasets
            volumes

All with respect of the filter functionality mentioned above.
Small change in behavior:

- As the tree should function as a selection entry point, the click on a node should select the node and not
expand the subtree. Subtree expansion should only happen when using the icons dedicated for it.

 

[dlavigne]

It's worth creating a feature request at bugs.freenas.org and posting the issue number here. The devs are planning on improving the UI so it is useful to hear feedback from users on what improves their workflow.

 

[BuddyButterfly]

It's worth creating a feature request at bugs.freenas.org and posting the issue number here. The devs are planning on improving the UI so it is useful to hear feedback from users on what improves their workflow.

Ticket has been filed, though, there seems to be a rewrite already going on.

https://bugs.freenas.org/issues/5402