In this paper, we investigate the suitability of clustered architectures (consisting of a set of nodes, each with a local disk array, connected by a high bandwidth switch or network) for designing scalable multimedia servers, that can support thousands of concurrent streams. Specifically, we evaluate the effects of: (i) architectural design of the cluster, (ii) the stripe unit size, and (iii) read-ahead buffering and scheduling, on the real-time performance guarantees provided by the server. We develop an analytical model of clustered multimedia servers, to analyze the effects of these parameters, and then validate it through extensive simulations. We present and discuss our results.
By: Renu Tiwari, Rajat Mukherjee, Daniel M. Dias and Harrick M. Vin (Univ. Texas at Austin)
Published in: RC20020 in 1995
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