A case for flash memory ssd in enterprise database applications

ABSTRACT

Due to its superiority such as low access latency, low energy consumption, light weight, and shock resistance, the success of flash memory as a storage alternative for mobile computing devices has been steadily expanded into personal computer and enterprise server markets with ever increasing capacity of its storage. However, since flash memory exhibits poor performance for small-to-moderate sized writes requested in a random order, existing database systems may not be able to take full advantage of flash memory without elaborate flash-aware data structures and algorithms. The objective of this work is to understand the applicability and potential impact that flash memory SSD (Solid State Drive) has for certain type of storage spaces of a database server where sequential writes and random reads are prevalent. We show empirically that up to more than an order of magnitude improvement can be achieved in transaction processing by replacing magnetic disk with flash memory SSD for transaction log, rollback segments, and temporary table spaces.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.2 DATABASE MANAGEMENT
      H.2.2 Physical Design
          Subjects: Access methods

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Performance, Reliability

Keywords:
flash-memory database server, flash-memory ssd