SHF: Small: Introducing Next Generation I/O Accelerator

大数据应用需要高速、可靠、节能的数据存储系统。由于传统系统以旋转硬盘驱动器为中心，传统存储体系结构具有根本性的局限性。随着NAND门闪存、相变存储器、忆阻器和磁性RAM等非易失性存储器技术的快速发展，为存储体系结构的革命性变革提供了巨大的机会。这项研究的目标是启动存储体系结构的范式转变，以满足日益增长的大数据应用需求。可以预见，未来的存储系统将具有在运行时动态学习、分析、预测和控制系统的机器智能。引入了一种具有机器智能的新型加速器体系结构，以实现对高性能计算尤其是大数据计算至关重要的存储数据操作的高速处理。新推出的I/O加速器位于多核CPU芯片或存储控制器板上，可实现足够准确的预测，从而有效优化存储I/O。凭借新的体系结构特征，建议的I/O加速器可以执行复杂的I/O任务，其速度可与新兴的非易失性存储器相媲美，这对I/O性能至关重要，因为它不再像旋转磁盘那样在毫秒内运行。该项目将探索并实施I/O加速器，该加速器能够有效地应对与多种存储技术相关的因素的复杂性和高维性、应用程序工作负载的较大差异、不同的可靠性/可用性要求以及各种存储组件的功耗。其结果是一种针对未来计算基础设施进行了优化的新的异类存储体系结构。在加速器的推动下，将研究全面的方法，以主动学习系统行为，以预测长期趋势并快速响应快速变化的I/O事件。新体系结构被认为是第一个通过以下方式提供动态优化的体系结构：1)跨不同设备的智能数据替换和替换；2)对应用程序工作负载的最佳资源分配和配置；3)基于内容局部性的有效重复数据删除；以及4)适应不同数据类型的数据保护和恢复的智能策略决策。此外，新的加速器能够在活动存储系统中实现快速的现场数据分析。该研究项目预计将产生以下更广泛的影响：1)在当今的云计算和大数据应用中，服务器产生大量I/O，可以充分利用新的存储架构。2)新的加速器可以集成到多个核心CPU中，作为未来异类处理器的专用核心。3)新的存储架构将加快新兴存储类存储器的采用。4)新的方法将刺激更多将机器学习应用于存储系统的研究。5)新的以CPU和数据为中心的计算机工程课程将培养研究生和本科生，以满足现实世界的需求。6)外展计划将延续以前NSF项目的成功故事，以帮助罗德岛州和国家的经济发展。

Big data applications demand high speed, reliable, and energy efficient data storage systems. Traditional storage architectures have fundamental limitations because of legacy systems that have centered on spinning hard disk drives. With rapid advances in nonvolatile memory technologies such as NAND-gate flash, phase change memory, Memristor, and magnetic RAM, a great opportunity arises for revolutionizing storage architectures. The objective of this research is to start a paradigm shift in storage architecture to meet the increasing demand of big data applications. It is envisioned that future storage systems will have machine intelligence that learns, analyzes, predicts, and controls the system at runtime dynamically. A novel accelerator architecture is introduced with machine intelligence to enable high speed processing of storage data operations that are critical to high performance computing in general and big data computing in particular. The newly introduced I/O accelerator, residing either in a many-core CPU chip or on a storage controller board, enables sufficiently accurate predictions for effective optimization of storage I/Os. With new architecture features, the proposed I/O accelerator can carry out complicated I/O tasks in the speed comparable to the emerging nonvolatile memories, which is critical to I/O performance because it no longer operates in milliseconds as spinning disks do. The project will explore and implement the I/O accelerator that can effectively deal with the complexity and high dimensionality of factors related to diverse storage technologies, a large variation of application workloads, different reliability/availability requirements, and power consumptions of various storage components. The result is a new heterogeneous storage architecture that is optimized for future computing infrastructure. With the accelerator as an enabler, comprehensive methodology will be investigated that proactively learns system behavior to anticipate long-term trends and to respond quickly to fast changing I/O events. The new architecture is believed to be the first of the kind providing dynamic optimizations by means of 1) intelligent data placements and replacements across heterogeneous devices, 2) optimal resource allocation and provisioning to applications' workloads, 3) effective data deduplication based on content locality, and 4) smart policy decision on data protection and recovery adaptive to different data types. Furthermore, the new accelerator enables fast in-situ data analytics in active storage systems. This research project is expected to have the following broader impacts: 1) In today's cloud computing and big data applications, servers generate a large amount of I/Os that can take full advantage of the new storage architecture. 2) The new accelerator can be incorporated into many core CPUs as a specialized core for future heterogeneous processors. 3) The new storage architecture will speed up the adoption of emerging storage class memories. 4) The new methodology will stimulate more research in applying machine learning to storage systems. 5) The new CPU-and-data centric Computer Engineering curriculum will train both graduate and undergraduate students for real world needs. 6) The outreach program will continue the success stories of prior NSF projects to help the economic development of the state of Rhode Island and the nation.