Exploring the Provision of Reliable Network Storage in Highly Mobile Environments

Abstract

Computing is fundamentally about processing data which must be readily accessible to processing elements. Hence, the use of storage hierarchies plays an important role in the overall performance of computer systems. Recently, due to the deployment of fast networks, network storage has emerged as a viable alternative to large local storage systems. However, trying to provide reliable network storage in highly mobile environments, such as vehicular networks, results in the need to address several issues. This paper explores these challenges by first looking at the communication dynamics required for seamless connectivity in these networks. It then looks at how services can be migrated as users move around. The results of this analysis are applied to the migration of a simple Network Memory Server using different migration techniques such as Docker, KVM, LXD and Unikernels in an edge environment, represented by a real Vehicle Ad-Hoc Network. The results show that a proactive approach to service migration is needed to support such services in highly mobile environments.