Robert A. Coyne

The parallel I/O architecture of the high-performance storage system (HPSS)

Datasets up to terabyte size and petabyte total capacities have created a serious imbalance between I/O and storage-system performance and system functionality. One promising approach is the use of parallel data-transfer techniques for client access to storage, peripheral-to-peripheral transfers, and remote file transfers. This paper describes the parallel I/O architecture and mechanisms, parallel transport protocol (PTP), parallel FTP, and parallel client application programming interface (API) used by the high-performance storage system (HPSS). Parallel storage integration issues with a local parallel file system are also discussed.

Storage systems for national information assets

An industry-led collaborative project, called the National Storage Laboratory (NSL), has been organized to investigate technology for storage systems that will be the future repositories for the national information assets. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory through its National Energy Research Supercomputer Center (NERSC) is the operational site and the provider of applications. It is anticipated that the integrated testbed system will represent a significant advance in the technology for distributed storage systems capable of handling gigabyte class files at gigabit-per-second data rates. The NSL collaboration is undertaking research in four areas: network-attached storage; multiple, dynamic, distributed storage hierarchies; layered access to storage system services; and storage system management. An overview of the prototype storage system is given. Three application domains have been chosen to test and demonstrate the systems effect on scientific productivity; climatic models, magnetic fusion energy models, and digital imaging.<<ETX>>

The High Performance Storage System

The National Storage Laboratory (NSL) was organized to develop, demonstrate and commercialize technology for the storage systems that will be the future repositories for the national information assets. Within the NSL four Department of Energy laboratories and IBM Federal Systems Company pooled their resources to develop an entirely new High Performance Storage System (HPSS). The HPSS project concentrates on scalable parallel storage systems for highly parallel computers as well as traditional supercomputers and workstation clusters. Concentrating on meeting the high end of storage system and data management requirements, HPSS is designed using network-connected storage devices to transfer data at rates of 100 million bytes per second and beyond. The resulting products will be portable to many vendors platforms. The three year project is targeted to be complete in 1995. This paper provides an overview of the requirements, design issues, and architecture of HPSS, as well as a description of the distributed, multi-organization industry and national laboratory HPSS project.

An introduction to the Mass Storage System Reference Model, version 5

Brief histories of the IEEE Mass Storage System Reference Model and the IEEE Storage System Standards Working Group are presented. The Reference Model is explained in terms of layers of abstraction, including storage-container layers, mapping-service layers, and storage-service layers.<<ETX>>

The emerging storage management paradigm

The authors present a summary of important challenges in managing and addressing the data of large commercial and governmental installations and the solutions that are arising from industry, national laboratories, and standards organizations. These issues are viewed from the perspective of a shift away from the paradigm of centralized, sequential storage systems toward a new paradigm of distributed, network-based, parallel storage systems. The challenges of technology discussed include high-speed storage devices, communications, and parallel computing. The relationship between managing data and managing storage is considered, with emphasis on scientific data objects. The challenge of integrating components from many vendors is also discussed.<<ETX>>

The National Storage Laboratory (NSL): overview and status

The National Storage Laboratory (NSL) was organized to investigate, demonstrate, and commercialize high-performance hardware and software storage technologies that promise to remove network computing bottlenecks and to provide critically needed new storage system functionality. This paper briefly outlines the NSLs goals, the NSL collaboration, the NSLs current status and organization, and the applications drive for the NSL.<<ETX>>

National Storage Laboratory: a collaborative research project

The grand challenges of science and industry that are driving computing and communications have created corresponding challenges in information storage and retrieval. An industry-led collaborative project has been organized to investigate technology for storage systems that will be the future repositories of national information assets. Industry participants are IBM Federal Systems Company, Ampex Recording Systems Corporation, General Atomics DISCOS Division, IBM ADSTAR, Maximum Strategy Corporation, Network Systems Corporation, and Zitel Corporation. Industry members of the collaborative project are funding their own participation. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory through its National Energy Research Supercomputer Center (NERSC) will participate in the project as the operational site and provider of applications. The expected result is the creation of a National Storage Laboratory to serve as a prototype and demonstration facility. It is expected that this prototype will represent a significant advance in the technology for distributed storage systems capable of handling gigabyte-class files at gigabit-per-second data rates. Specifically, the collaboration expects to make significant advances in hardware, software, and systems technology in four areas of need, (1) network-attached high performance storage; (2) multiple, dynamic, distributed storage hierarchies; (3) layered access to storage system services; and (4) storage system management.

The National Storage System Foundation (NSSF)

The National Storage Industry Consortium (NSIC), an organization of universities and industrial companies involved in the field of data and image storage, has established the National Storage System Foundation (NSSF). NSIC/NSSF was organized to promote the development of high-performance, interoperable digital libraries to serve as repositories for national information assets. NSIC/NSSF has an inclusive organizational philosophy allowing any number of members with the same technology and product interests. It is open to universities, companies, and governmental agencies and laboratories. The general requirements for membership of a company in NSIC are that the company: engage in the development, manufacture, integration, and/or use of storage systems or components; perform a substantial portion of its storage research and development activities within the United States; and be eligible to receive United States federal research and development funds.<<ETX>>