Parallel File Systems

RAID Inc. Delivers a Storage Solution Ideal for the Supercomputing Needs and Big Data Needs of the Enterprise

In this 30 page white paper, Dr. Ercan Kamber of RAID Incorporated discusses the topic of why HPC clusters can benefit from parallel file systems and the differences in storage architecture between Lustre and GPFS.

Why a Parallel File System?

Today's computational requirements are increasing at a geometric rate that involves large quantities of data. However, the performance of the I/O subsystems and communication capabilities are not keeping pace. The solution is Parallel File Systems, which are designed to provide CPUs with shares access to data in parallel. This enable high performance by allowing system architects to use various storage technologies and high-speed, low latency interconnects to obtain the desired performance, accommodating any and all demands of even the most intensive computing environments. Parallel file systems also scale well as an organization’s storage needs grow.

What Is Covered In Our Whitepaper?

The continued advancement of parallel processing in CPU technology makes a compelling case for using a parallel file system in clustered environments, or in a departmental setting where there are a number of discrete servers. In both cases, the I/O subsystem will not only benefit in performance, but in scalability and in the ability to share data in both heterogeneous and homogenous environments alike.