The grand challenges are the following: to develop more innovation in approach; to expand the I/O barrier; to achieve increased volumetric efficiency and incremental cost improvements; to reinforce the 'weakest link' software; to implement improved architectures; and to minimize the impact of self-destructing technologies. Mass storage is defined as any type of storage system exceeding 100 GBytes in total size, under the control of a centralized file management scheme. The topics covered are presented in viewgraph form

Lee, Richard

Mintz, Dan

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

1992 NASA GSFC Conference on
Mass Storage Systems and Technologies
Grand Challenges in Mass Storage
"A System Integrator[ Perspective"
Dan Mlntz
8500 Leesburg Pike, Suite 402
Vienna, Virginia 22182
(703) 893-1030
Fax: (703) 893-1069
70322.1065@CompuServe.tom
Richard Leo
Post Office Box 1293
Rldgewood, New Jersey 07451
(201) 870-6620
Fax: (301) 670-7814
73130.2011 @Corn puServe.com
September 23, 1992
What are these Grand Challenges?
• Develop more Innovation in Approach
• Expand the I/O Barrier
• Achieve Increased Volumetric Efficiency & Incremental
Cost Improvements
• Reinforce the "Weakest Link"-Software
• Implement Improved Architectures
• Minimize the Impact of"Self-Destructing" Technologies
o.t,
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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930022784 2020-03-17T05:20:00+00:00Z
Grand Challenges in Mass Storage
"A System Integrator's Perspective"
Our Definition of Mass Storage
• We Define Mass Storage as any Type
of Storage System Exceeding 100
GBytes (0.1 TB)in Total Size (not
off-line), Under the Control of a
Centralized File Management Scheme
The Growing Importance of Systems Integrators
• Potential Systems Solutions are Becoming Increasingly
Complex
• Open Systems Architectures Allow Multi-Vendor Solutions
• In-House Technical Staff are Tied Up Making the Current
Technology Work on a Daily Basis
• In-House Technical Staff Members Have Difficulty Keeping
Up with New and Alternative Technologies
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Grand Challenges in Mass Storage
"A System Integrator's Perspective"
Todays High Performance Computing Environment
• A Hodge Podge of Many Different Types of CPU;
• Vector
• Scalar
• Parallel & Massively Parallel
• CISC
• RISC
• Visualization Engines
Todays High Performance Computing Environment (cont'd)
* Interconnection by Elaborate Networking Schemes;
• HyperChannel
• FDDI/CDDI &ATM
• HiPPI
" Ethernet & Token Ring
* Kiuge
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Grand Challenges in Mass Storage
"A System Integrator's Perspective"
Todays High Performance Computing Environment (cont'd)
• Volumes of Biffile Data are Being Produced at Rates
Beyond our Wildest Hallucinations
• Local and Network Disk, and Tape Systems are
Overwhelmed
• Dedicated and Intricate Software Schemes Have Been
Developed to Manage Data
• The Growing Impact of Scientific Visualization
• New Fiscal Realities
How do we Develop More Innovation in Approach?
To "Innovate" Requires Abandonment of Many Practices of
the Past
"New Challenges Require New Thinking"
CPU Price/Performance Capabilities have become a
"Double edged sword"
"Desktop Supercomputers with PC I10 Ports"
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How
Grand Challenges in Mass Storage
"A System Integrator's Perspective"
do we Develop More Innovation in Approach? (cont'd)
Mass Storage Solutions Require a Coordinated Effort by all
Facets of the Data Center
"Plugging in the latest-greatest box and software buys
only short term results"
Cost Factors Drive the Most Effective Solutions Today
"Doing more with less has spawned innovative
thinking across the board"
Expanding the Input Output Barrier
I/O Capabilities Must Begin to Keep Pace With Processor
Speed
Processor Power has Increased 25% Per Year (CAGR),
While I/0 Rates Have Remained at .250 - 7 MB/s (with
Few Exceptions) for Many Years.
RAID, DASD-like devices, 19ram & 1/2" Helical Scan Tape,
and Other New Storage Systems Cannot Achieve Their
Potential w/o Solving the I/O Bottleneck.
Operating System (O.S.) Software and Low.Bandwidth
Peripheral Channels Must Undergo Significant
Improvements to Meet the Challenges of the '90's
Data
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Grand Challenges in Mass Storage
"A System Integrator's Perspective"
Expanding the Input Output Barrier (cont'd2
HiPPI, FDDI, CDDI and ATM Offer Hope In Increasing the
Bandwidth of Interconnecting Peripherals, But Do Not
Solve the O.S. Software or I/O Channel Limitation
Problems.
Direct Connection to High Bandwidth Internal Buses,
and More Simplistic O.S. I/0 Calls are Required.
Achieving Volumetric Efficiency & Incremental Cost
Improvements
• Increasing Volumetric Efficiency of Storage Systems
Reduces Operations and Transportation Costs
Dramatically.
RAID, DASD-like Devices and Helical Scan Tape
Provide Orders-of-Magnitude of More Storage Capacity
per Square Foot With Increased Bandwidth Thrown in
For Virtually No Costl
• DASD-like Devices and Helical Scan Tape Incrementally
Reduce the $/MB of Capacity to a Fraction of More
Traditional Devices, while also Providing More Capacity
Per Unit Volume and Higher I/O Bandwidths.
Almost Like Having a "Free Lunch"
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Grand Challenges in Mass Storage
"A System Integrator's Perspective"
Reinforcing the "Weakest Link"- Software
Hierarchical File Management Software Packages are
Available From Many Manufacturers. All are Unique; Many
are Proprietary; and Some Comply With Emerging
Standards (IEEE MSRM 4.0, OSI ,etc.)
Those Developed by CPU Manufacturers Are The Most
Mature (Cray, IBM, etc.)
Those Developed by Independents and Small
Companies Offer the Most Features and Benefits
(UniTree, EPOCH, E-Mass, etc.), but are also the Most
Immature and Risky from a Business Perspective.
Reinforcing the "Weakest Link"- Software (cont'd)
The NewestlEEE Mass Storage Reference Model
(Version 5.0) Potentially Provides the Means to Tame the
Hierarchical File Management Software (FMS) Beast.
Logical Layers and Task Partitioning Unbundles the
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be Provided from Developers with Specialized
Expertise i.e. Security, PVR's, BiUile Movers. etc.
Government Mandates (POSIX, GOSIP and OSI) Must be
Tempered Against Established Practices and Protocols
i.e. TCP/IP
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Grand Challenges in Mass Storage
"A System Integrator's Perspective"
Implementing Improved/Advanced Hardware Architectures
• Dedicated File Server CPU's (Mainframe, Mini-Super, and
Supercomputers) are Too Expensive and Inefficient to
Solve Current and Future Mass Storage Requirements.
HiPPI, FDDI and ATM Fabrics Provide for Direct
Interconnection of Source-to-Sink in Data Intensive
Environments
• The "Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent
Whatevers" Concept Can be Applied to Many Facets of the
Data Center.
e.g. Disk (RAID) and Tape (RAIT) Drives, Independent
Computers (RAIC/Clustering), and Data Centers
themselves (RAIR).
Minimizing the Impact of "Self-Destructing Technologies"
• Revolutionary Advances in Computer Technology have
Produced a Nasty By-Product known as;
"Self-Destructing Technology".
Pursuit of the latest, greatest technological solution for
each new program has blinded many to the fact that a
significant portion of the technology used in the last
program has "seN-destructed", while no one was
paying attention.
• The Balance of Maturity in an Approach vs. Maintaining
One's Technological Edge Produces Serious Conflicts in
How to Proceed.
i.e. Running the COTS Juggernaut
Dabl
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Grand Challenges in Mass Storage
"ASystem Integrator's Perspective"
Conclusions
In Order to Survive into the Future, a New Order Must
Emerge in the way we Develop and Manage Technology
for Computing and Data Storage.
Systems Integrators Face Grand Challenges in Adapting
Technology to Meet Their Customers' Wide Variety of
Needs. Business as Usual Will Not Work.
Programs like EOSDIS will Force a New Paradigm on the
Computer Marketplace. Manufacturers and Systems
Integrators Should Not Ignore the Fate of the Dinosaur
in Respect to Change
Dsta
WJ CULVER CONSULTING Storage
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Grand challenges in mass storage: A system integrator's perspective

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