Towards an efficient flash-based mid-tier cache

Yi Ou*, Jianliang Xu, Theo Härder

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceedingConference proceedingpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Due to high access performance and price-per-byte considerations, flash memory has been recommended for use as a mid-tier cache in a multi-tier storage system. However, previous studies related to flash-based mid-tier caching only considered the indirect use of flash memory via a flash translation layer, which causes expensive flash-based cache maintenance. This paper identifies the weaknesses of such indirect methods, with a focus on the cold-page migration problem. As improvements, we propose two novel approaches, an indirect approach called LPD (logical page drop) and a native approach called NFA (native flash access). The basic idea is to drop cold pages proactively so that the garbage collection overhead can be minimized. Our experiments demonstrate that both approaches, especially the native one, effectively improve the use of flash memory in the mid-tier cache. NFA reduces the number of garbage collections and block erasures by up to a factor of five and improves the mid-tier throughput by up to 66%.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDatabase and Expert Systems Applications - 23rd International Conference, DEXA 2012, Proceedings
Pages55-70
Number of pages16
EditionPART 1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012
Event23rd International Conference on Database and Expert Systems Applications, DEXA 2012 - Vienna, Austria
Duration: 3 Sept 20126 Sept 2012

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
NumberPART 1
Volume7446 LNCS
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference23rd International Conference on Database and Expert Systems Applications, DEXA 2012
Country/TerritoryAustria
CityVienna
Period3/09/126/09/12

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • Computer Science(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Towards an efficient flash-based mid-tier cache'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this