RAID-II: A High-Bandwidth Network File Server

In 1989, the RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) group at U. C. Berkeley built a prototype disk array called RAID-I. The bandwidth delivered to clients by RAID-I was severely limited by the memory system bandwidthof the disk array's host workstation. We designed our second prototype, RAID-II, to deliver more of the disk array bandwidth to file server clients. A custom-built crossbar memory system called the XBUS board connects the disks directly to the high-speed network, allowing data for large requests to bypass the server workstation. RAID-II runs Log-Structured File System (LFS) software to optimize performance for bandwidth-intensive applications. The RAID-II hardware with a single XBUS controller board delivers 20 megabytes/second for large, random read operations and up to 31 megabytes/second for sequential read operations. A preliminary implementation of LFS on RAID-II delivers 21 megabytes/second on large read requests and 15 megabytes/second on large write oper...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1994
• Where: ISCA
• Authors: Ann L. Drapeau, Ken Shirriff, John H. Hartman, Ethan L. Miller, Srinivasan Seshan, Randy H. Katz, Ken Lutz, David A. Patterson, Edward K. Lee, Peter M. Chen, Garth A. Gibson
• Keywords: Array's Host Workstation, Disk Array, Hardware, ISCA 1994, Prototype Disk Array