I-Corps: Flash in Action for High-Performance and Low-Energy Web Content Storage

这个项目解决了使用闪存作为多层存储系统的基础。数字内容（例如，文本、图像、声音、视频等）经历了爆炸性的增长。互联网媒体提供商（例如，Facebook、Flicker、YouTube、Hulu、Netflix等）在交付内容方面面临着巨大的I/O需求。而且，由于网络上的视频流量不断增加，后端存储服务器不仅需要增加存储容量，还需要增加存储带宽，以便及时为Web客户端提供服务。硬盘驱动器（HDD）在每美元的容量上有所进步，而主存储器（以DRAM的形式）在每美元的速度上有所进步。近来，闪存技术由于其显著的成本降低而受到工业界的关注。基于闪存的固态硬盘（SSD）现在的价格可以弥补HDD和DRAM之间的容量-速度差距。此外，闪存的能耗远低于两种传统存储技术。该项目提出，多层存储架构是一种引人注目的工具，可以通过利用所有三种技术的优势来优化存储的容量，速度和能耗存储设备占典型数据中心能耗的近40%-因此，存储服务器不仅要具有高容量和高性能，而且还要节能。从环境的角度来看，设计能够减少数据中心碳足迹的解决方案非常重要。使用闪存进行缓存的多层Web存储系统是性能、容量和能源效率方面有前途的解决方案。该项目的技术为CDN提供商和Web服务提供商提供了优化其存储系统性能和能效的机会。虽然这项技术的主要客户将是运行大量Web服务器的公司，但这些大型Web公司运行的数据中心的碳排放减少对环境有利。

This project addresses the use of flash memory as the foundation for multi-tiered storage systems. Digital content (e.g., text, image, sound, video, etc.) has experienced explosive growth. Internet media providers (e.g., Facebook, Flicker, YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, etc.) are facing huge I/O demand for delivering content. And, due to the increasing video traffic on the web, backend storage servers not only need increased storage capacity but also increased storage bandwidth to serve the web clients in a timely manner. Hard disk drives (HDDs) have advanced in capacity per dollar while main memory (in the form of DRAM) has advanced in speed per dollar. Recently, flash memory technology has been getting attention from industry due to its significant cost decrease. Flash-based Solid-State Drives (SSDs) are now at the price point where they can bridge the capacity-speed gap between HDDs and DRAM. In addition, energy consumption of flash memory is far less than the two traditional storage technologies. This project proposes that multi-tiered storage architecture is a compelling vehicle to optimize capacity, speed, and energy consumption of storage by exploiting the advantages of all three technologies Storage devices make up nearly 40% of the energy consumption of a typical data center -- consequently, storage servers should not only have high capacity and deliver high performance, but also be energy efficient. From an environmental perspective, it is extremely important to devise solutions that can reduce the carbon footprint of data centers. A multi-tiered, web storage system that uses flash memory for caching is a promising solution for performance, capacity, and energy efficiency. This project's technology presents an opportunity for CDN providers and web service providers to optimize the performance and energy efficiency of their storage systems. While the primary customers of this technology will be corporations that run a large number of web servers, there is an environmental benefit from the carbon emission reduction of the data centers run by such big web corporations.