Flashing in the Cloud

Data and storage systems are one of the most important issues to tackle when dealing with cloud computing. Performance, in terms of data transfer and energy cost, predictability, and scalability are the main challenges researchers are faced with, and new techniques for storing, managing, and accessing huge amounts of data are required to make cloud computing technology feasible. With the emergence of flash memories in mass storage systems and the advantages it can provide in terms of speed and power efficiency as compared to traditional disks, one must rethink the storage system architectures accordingly. Indeed, the integration of flash memories is considered as a key technology to leverage the performance of data-centric computing. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce flash memory storage systems by focusing on their specific architectures and algorithms, and finally their integration into servers and data centers.