The XtreemFS Architecture - A Case for Object-Based File Systems in Grids

In today's Grids, files are usually managed by Grid data management systems that are superimposed on existing file and storage systems. In this position paper, the authors analyze this predominant approach and argue that object-based file systems can be an alternative when adapted to the characteristics of a Grid environment. They describe how they are solving the challenge of extending the object-based storage architecture for the Grid in XtreemFS, an object-based file system for federated infrastructures. The file abstraction is one of the success stories of system architecture, and the current computing world is unthinkable without file systems. Files are the technology of choice for any unstructured data, and provide an efficient container for abstractions with more structure.