DC: Small: Collaborative Research: Exploring Energy-Reliability Trade-offs in Data Storage Systems

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

Users rely on computers to save valuable data, with the expectation that the data will be available and accessible at any time. Consequently, storage and server systems have to provide stringent reliability guarantees. Many techniques - redundant data copies, multiple servers, and backup hardware - are employed in modern data centers to prevent data loss due to failures. However, these techniques consume more energy either to sustain additional hardware or to perform additional software tasks that keep disks busy longer. This poses trade-offs between using energy management and data reliability improvement - both of which are critical technologies that will direct the future of computer systems development. Thus, this project investigates the combined impact of energy efficiency and data reliability on storage systems. The utilization of a novel metric for capturing the energy-reliability interactions allows for designing optimization techniques that provide integrated reliability and energy management for modern storage systems. The results from this project are expected to lead to a better understanding of the interactions of energy management and reliability improvement techniques in storage systems, and to novel energy-efficient and reliable storage system organizations and designs that balance reliability and energy efficiency. The developed mechanisms will also enable further research in energy efficient and reliable systems at scale. Moreover, the project employs an integrated research and education approach for training both undergraduate and graduate researchers, especially from underrepresented groups. The training will instill critical system development skills and provide valuable learning opportunities in designing energy-efficient and reliable computer systems.