The Design and Implementation of a RAID-3 Multimedia File Server

The Olivetti Research Laboratory has developed an experimental system based on intelligent peripherals connected directly to an ATM network. As well as multimedia modules (e.g. audio and video) the system also includes a directly connected RAID-3 storage server called the “Disc Brick”. This paper describes the architecture of the Disc Brick, and discusses some of the hardware and software issues raised by its design. It also presents measurements taken from a Disc Brick in operation, and discusses how the observations relate to the original design objectives. Finally, the paper attempts to evaluate the Disc Brick as part of ORL's family of directly connected peripherals.