A Reliable Storage Management Layer for

Abstract

We present a storage management layer that facilitates the implementation of parallel information retrieval systems, and related applications, on networks of workstations. The storage management layer automates the process of adding and removing nodes, and implements a dispersed mirroring strategy to improve reliability. When nodes are added and removed, the document collection managed by the system is redistributed for load balancing purposes. The use of dispersed mirroring minimizes the impact of node failures and system modifications on query performance