Implementing Selective Write-Grouping in Software-Defined Storage for Enhanced Energy Savings

In this talk, we'll delve into the transformative potential of selective write-grouping within software-defined storage (SDS) systems, setting it against the backdrop of the Popular Data Concentration (PDC) approach. Both strategies are compatible with Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) and Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) disks with an erasure coding. Write-grouping confines write operations to a limited subset of drives, allowing inactive drives to power down and slash energy consumption by up to 43% in SMR configurations. The write-grouping approach eliminates the staging phase of PDC, enabling immediate partitioning and placement of data onto specific groups upon arrival. Additionally, we will introduce the "diagonal" algorithm as an innovative method to rebalance write group data during SDS capacity expansion and DR events. Join us to explore the challenges of power-saving, scaling, and performance in SDS environments.