Do I need to compress snapshot streams?

[candide-guevara]

Problem

Does compressing stream (before encryption) bring any benefit?

Solution

• Measure compression ratios on real snapshots.
• If worth it then implement.
• Otherwise document decision and rename types accordingly.

[candide-guevara]

Comparing 18 months of images and PDFs:

• btrfs send -p /media/BifrostSnap/subvol_202005 /media/BifrostSnap/subvol_202111 | wc -c | numfmt --to=iec-i
  • 3.1G
• btrfs send -p /media/BifrostSnap/subvol_202005 /media/BifrostSnap/subvol_202111 | gzip --best | wc -c | numfmt --to=iec-i
  • 2.8G

Comparing 11 months of only PDFs: 215M vs 173M