File Systems for Object Storage Devices (Fall 2010)

Object-based storage devices (OSDs) may become the next big thing in file storage systems. Already deployed in the high-performance computing arena, they are poised for general enterprise computing as data requirements mushroom. By distributing storage management and enabling secure data transfer between storage and clients, OSDs promise significant improvements in scaling and administrative simplicity. But OSDs require a new breed of file system--one that makes effective use of them to deliver the promised benefits. This tutorial describes the properties of OSDs, explains how file system technology is evolving to exploit the scalability and administrative simplicity they offer, identifies the mature and emerging segments of the OSD-based file storage systems market, and shows how technology that has been successful in HPC can be beneficially employed in more general data center environments. Standardization activities, notably the parallel NFS (pNFS) protocol for addressing OSDs will be discussed.

Learning Objectives

Appreciate the advantages of OSDs over conventional disks and the environments in which those advantages are meaningful.
Understand how OSD file systems must differ from disk-based file systems.
Understand the current state of OSD file system maturity and the segments in which they are deployed, and learn how OSD technology and standardization are developing to broaden the appeal of OSDs throughout enterprise computing.