Provided by: nbdkit_1.36.3-1ubuntu10_amd64 
NAME
nbdkit-xz-filter - nbdkit xz filter
SYNOPSIS
nbdkit --filter=xz file FILENAME.xz
nbdkit --filter=xz curl https://example.com/FILENAME.xz
DESCRIPTION
"nbdkit-xz-filter" is a filter for nbdkit(1) which uncompresses the underlying plugin on the fly. The
filter only supports read-only connections.
Getting best random access performance from xz
xz(1) files are split into streams and blocks. Most xz files contain only one stream which contains one
or more blocks. You can find out how many streams and blocks are in an xz file by doing:
$ xz --list winxp.img.xz
Strms Blocks Compressed Uncompressed Ratio Check Filename
1 1 2,100.0 MiB 6,144.0 MiB 0.342 CRC64 winxp.img.xz
↑↑↑ ↑↑↑
streams blocks
xz files are seekable on block boundaries only. Seeking is done by seeking directly to the lower block
boundary, then uncompressing data until the precise byte is reached. As uncompressing xz data is slow,
to get best random access performance, you must prepare your xz files with many small blocks.
Use the --block-size option with a small-ish block size. For example this is the same image compressed
with a 16 MB block size:
$ xz --best --block-size=16777216 winxp.img
─────────────────────
$ xz --list winxp.img.xz
Strms Blocks Compressed Uncompressed Ratio Check Filename
1 384 2,120.1 MiB 6,144.0 MiB 0.345 CRC64 winxp.img.xz
↑↑↑
blocks
This file can be accessed randomly. At most 16 MB will have to be uncompressed to seek to any byte.
As you would expect, xz cannot compress as efficiently when using a smaller block size. The space
penalty in the above example is < 1% of the compressed file size.
PARAMETERS
xz-max-block=SIZE
The maximum block size that the filter will read. The filter will refuse to read xz files that
contain any block larger than this size.
See the discussion above about creating xz files with small block sizes in order to reduce memory
usage and increase performance.
This parameter is optional. If not specified it defaults to 512M.
xz-max-depth=N
Maximum number of blocks stored in the LRU block cache.
This parameter is optional. If not specified it defaults to 8.
The filter may allocate up to maximum block size in file × maxdepth bytes of memory per connection.
FILES
$filterdir/nbdkit-xz-filter.so
The filter.
Use "nbdkit --dump-config" to find the location of $filterdir.
VERSION
"nbdkit-xz-filter" first appeared in nbdkit 1.10. It is derived from an earlier plugin that first
appeared in nbdkit 1.0.
SEE ALSO
nbdkit(1), nbdkit-filter(3), nbdkit-curl-plugin(1), nbdkit-file-plugin(1), xz(1).
AUTHORS
Richard W.M. Jones
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Red Hat
LICENSE
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided
that the following conditions are met:
• Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and
the following disclaimer.
• Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and
the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
• Neither the name of Red Hat nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote
products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY RED HAT AND CONTRIBUTORS ''AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL RED HAT OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR
OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
nbdkit-1.36.3 2024-03-31 nbdkit-xz-filter(1)