ZFS Component Naming Requirements

Each ZFS component, such as datasets and pools, must be named according to the following rules:

• Each component can only contain alphanumeric characters in addition to the following four special characters:

  • Underscore (_)

  • Hyphen (-)

  • Colon (:)

  • Period (.)

• Pool names must begin with a letter, and can only contain alphanumeric characters as well as underscore (_), dash (-), and period (.). Note the following pool name restrictions:

  • The beginning sequence c[0-9] is not allowed.

  • The name log is reserved.

  • A name that begins with mirror, raidz, raidz1, raidz2, raidz3, or spare is not allowed because these names are reserved.

  • Pool names must not contain a percent sign (%).

• Dataset names must begin with an alphanumeric character.

• Dataset names must not contain a percent sign (%).

In addition, empty components are not allowed.