Simulation of Hierarchical Storage

This work will be embedded in the ACES research group and conducted in tight collaboration with ECMWF.

If you are interested in this topic or similar topics, contact Dr. Julian Kunkel.

Hierarchical storage combines different storage technologies like SSDs, Disk, and tape in a network architecture to minimize costs while maximizing efficiency. Simulation can help to understand the design space, i.e., predicting the performance for a given workload and system. We have already developed a first Python prototype of a simulator for a hierarchical storage system of disk and tape. In this work, we aim to extend the prototype to enable execution of execution traces from ECMWF that show the user requests on tape, to explore the design space of tape libraries to deal with this load. This requires some extensions to the simulator and system models for network, storage, and workloads.

Firstly, the existing simulator is studied and setup. Next, the ECMWF storage environment is modelled. Then, ECMWF access traces are fed into the simulator to verify the behavior against the existing system. Finally, a study of alternative system models is conducted.

While all skills needed to complete this project can be obtained during the time of the project, some skills are beneficial:

• Programming languages: Python (intermediate level)
• Linux (intermediate)
• Discrete event simulation

An MSc candidate is expected to bring soft skills (in decreasing order of importance):

• Communication
• Problem-Solving
• Time management