Architectures and Algorithms to Exploit Probe-Based Storage

University Of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

The storage density of rotating magnetic recording is approaching its theoretical maximum. Magnetic probe-based technology avoids these limitations by using techniques such as orthogonal recording which promise very high density storage within the next five to ten years. Probe-based storage devices promise improved access times, enormous potential parallelism gains, and remarkable storage densities. However, because of the unique characteristics of these devices there is a high probability that existing file system architectures and algorithms will be suboptimal. By reexamining these basic structures in the context of probe-based storage, it is likely that significant performance gains can be achieved. The proposed work comprises fundamental research in four areas: simulation of probe-based storage devices, architectural issues such as parallelism and caching, storage allocation and file layout, and request scheduling. In reexamining these basic issues for this new technology, this research creates a body of work that will lead the way in the development of secondary storage systems for such devices. This research is likely to result in a better understanding of the implementation details associated with probe-based storage devices to provide a set of algorithms and structures that can be used in systems implementations employing them.