I/O subsystem configurations for ESA: New roles for processor storage

I/O subsystem configurations are dictated by the storage and I/O requirements of the specific applications that use the disk hardware. Treating the latter requirement as a given, however, draws a boundary at the channel interface that is not well-suited to the capabilities of the Enterprise Systems Architecture (ESA). This architecture allows hardware expenditures in the I/O subsystem to be managed, while at the same time improving transaction response time and system throughput capability, by a strategy of processor buffering coupled with storage control cache. The key is to control the aggregate time per transaction spent waiting for physical disk motion. This paper investigates how to think about and accomplish such an objective. A case study, based on data collected at a large Multiple Virtual Storage installation, is used to investigate the potential types and amounts of memory use by individual files, both in storage control cache and in processor buffers. The mechanism of interaction between the two memory types is then examined and modeled so as to develop broad guidelines for how best to deploy an overall memory budget. These guidelines tend to contradict the usual metrics of storage control cache effectiveness, underscoring the need for an adjustment in pre-ESA paradigms.