> However, if your workload consists of one or more zfs datasets that store, and subsequently access, many small files, you can actually store the files themselves on the device - not just the metadata.
> For instance, if you have a pool named TANK and a filesystem named fs1 and you want to store all files smaller than, or equal to, 8K in the special vdev, you would run: ...
This sounds like the files themselves must be of size 8K or less in order to be allocated on the metadata vdev. But doesn't that include all individual file blocks of size 8K or less, not just entire files?
> For instance, if you have a pool named TANK and a filesystem named fs1 and you want to store all files smaller than, or equal to, 8K in the special vdev, you would run: ...
This sounds like the files themselves must be of size 8K or less in order to be allocated on the metadata vdev. But doesn't that include all individual file blocks of size 8K or less, not just entire files?