HBase question dumps

Collection of random questions about HBase, for my own reference:

• Why prefer JBOD over RAID for slave nodes? is it b/c of the underlying assumption of using HDFS? how does HDFS replicates blocks? is it possible that replication fails before a block get replicated? How to recover from such failure, from HDFS standpoint of view?
• Not directly related to HBase, but what are the pros and cons of different fs mentioned in Chapter 2? (ext3,4, XFS, ZFS....)
• RPC call between HBase and HDFS, assume version matches, performance concerns? 
• Best practice on how to avoid memory swap, especially on slaveNode.

learning HBase - init

Started learning HBase today, following The Definitive Guide. This series logs my progress.

Would be great if it helps people with limited background to navigate through all the obstacles and enjoy HBase.

Day 0

• Install/Set up git:
• folk https://github.com/larsgeorge/hbase-book
• ref-1 Getting-Started-First-Time-Git-Setup link; 
• Install Maven:
• sudo apt-get install maven
• ref-1 maven-in-five-minutes link. 

Day 1

• hbase site e-book (ref. link)
• webUI port changed from 60010 to 16010 !