Computer scientists at the University of Waterloo have found a novel approach that significantly improves the storage efficiency and output speed of computer systems.
Computer scientists at the University of Waterloo have found a novel approach that significantly improves the storage efficiency and output speed of computer systems.
Current data storage systems use only one storage server to process information, making them slow to retrieve information to display for the user. A backup server only becomes active if the main storage server fails.
The new approach, called FLAIR, optimizes data storage systems by using all the servers within a given network. Therefore, when a user makes a data request, if the main server is full, another server automatically activates to fill it.
“The key enabler for FLAIR is the recent introduction of programmable networks,” said Samer Al-Kiswany, a professor in Waterloo’s David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science and co-author of the study introducing the FLAIR technique. “Since the invention of computers, networks that connect storage servers in any system were rigid and inflexible. FLAIR leverages a new cutting-edge networking technology to build a smart network layer that can find the fastest way to fulfil information retrieval requests. Our evaluation shows that this approach can fulfil requests up to 2.5 times faster, compared to classical designs.”
Read more at University of Waterloo
Photo: Ahmed Alquraan (left), Professor Samer Al-Kiswany (centre, kneeling) and Ibrahim Kettaneh (right) pictured in one of the server rooms in Waterloo’s David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science. CREDIT: University of Waterloo
