Fault-Tolerance in the Network Storage Stack

This paper addresses the issue of fault-tolerance in applications that make use of network storage. A network abstraction called the Network Storage Stack is presented, along with its constituent parts. In particular, a data type called the exNode is detailed, along with tools that allow it to be used to implement a wide-area, striped and replicated file. Using these tools, we evaluate the fault-tolerance of several exNode “files,” composed of variable-size blocks stored on 14 different machines at five locations throughout the United States. The results demonstrate that while failures in using network storage occur frequently, the tools built on the Network Storage Stack tolerate them gracefully, and with good performance.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2002
• Where: IPPS
• Authors: Scott Atchley, Stephen Soltesz, James S. Plank, Micah Beck, Terry Moore
• Keywords: Distributed And Parallel Computing, IPPS 2002, Network Abstraction, Network Storage, Network Storage Stack