File system trace replay methods through the lens of metrology

Abstract

There are various methods to evaluate the performance of file systems through the replay of file system traces. Despite this diversity, little attention was given on comparing the alternatives, thus bringing some skepticism about the results attained using these methods. In this paper, to fill this understanding gap, we analyze two popular trace replay methods through the lens of metrology. This case study indicates that the evaluated methods provide similar, good precision but are biased in some scenarios. Our results identified limitations in the implementation of the replay tool as well as flaws in the established practices to experiment with trace replayers as the root causes of the measurement bias. After improving the implementation of the trace replayer and discarding inappropriate experimental practices, we were able to reduce the bias, leading to lower measurement uncertainty. Finally, our case study also shows that, in some cases, collecting only the file system activity is not enough to accurately replay the traces; in these cases, collecting resource consumption information, such as the amount of allocated memory, can improve the quality of trace replay methods.