Performance analysis of client-server storage systems

The performance analysis of a system in which storage is provided by a file server node on a network of client processors is discussed. The server controls a hierarchy of storage devices, and provides all the necessary file management functions. The clients are large mainframe systems that have their own local storage devices. The movement of files among the various storage levels is managed by a hierarchical storage management system. A closed queuing network model of the client-server storage system is used to analyze the performance of the system for various file movement criteria and to study the tradeoffs between recalling a file and accessing it by a distributed file system. Several network topologies (Ethernet, token ring, channel-to-channel) and their effect on performance are considered