Networked Storage System Simulation and Performance Analysis
Junpeng Niu, Jun Xu, Grant Mackey, Lihua Xie · 2018
Hybrid storage system is popular nowadays in modern data center storage. In a typical hybrid system, SSDs act as the performance tier, while HDDs provide cost effective storage tier. However, the various usages of SSDs, such as global cache or tier, or distributed as cache or tier in each storage node, etc. are not fully considered. The impacts of the network components in the storage systems on the overall performance are also not studied in detail. In this paper, we study the characteristics of SSDs utilized as either a cache or as a storage tier for hot data, as well as the impact of network communication between hot and cold pools of storage. Meanwhile, a novel networked storage system simulator is developed to evaluate the performance of various types of hybrid storage architectures. The simulation results can be utilized to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of various types of architecture designs, and the performance impacts of the network architecture.