Specifying data availability in multi-device file systems

Computers are increasing in processing power much faster than disks are reducing their access times or improving their bandwidth. This gap in dynamic performance will continue to widen over the next several years. There seem to be three ways to address this problem: • improving the way in which existing devices are used • using multiple devices in parallel to reduce latencies and increase bandwidth • making the devices "smarter" by coupling processing power closely to the storage device.