GreenFS: Making Enterprise Computers Greener by Protecting Them Better

Hard disks contain data - frequently an irreplaceable asset of high monetary and non-monetary value. At the same time, hard disks are mechanical devices that consume power, are noisy, and fragile when their platters are rotating. This paper demonstrates that hard disks cause different kinds of problems for different types of computer systems and demystify several common misconceptions. It show that solutions developed to date are incapable of solving the power consumption, noise, and data reliability problems without sacrificing hard disk life-time, data reliability, or user convenience.