An Analysis of iSCSI for Use in Distributed File System Design

Michael Brim and George Kola

Abstract: We evaluate the performance of iSCSI for use in design of a distributed file system. We perform a detailed full system characterization of a client using iSCSI. Using the analysis, we identify the overheads associated with iSCSI and compare and contrast it with local disk access and NFS file access. Understanding the overheads associated with iSCSI, we attempt to tune the system to optimize iSCSI performance and show the impact of various parameters. Using insights gleaned from the analysis, we design a distributed file system optimized for use with iSCSI. We point out the class of applications which would benefit from such a distributed file system. We also report the status of our implementation.

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