Download time analysis for distributed storage systems with node failures

Abstract

We consider a distributed storage system which stores several hot (popular) and cold (less popular) data files across multiple nodes or servers. Hot files are stored using repetition codes while cold files are stored using erasure codes. The nodes are prone to failure and hence at any given time, we assume that only a fraction of the nodes are available. Using a cavity process based mean field framework, we analyze the download time for users accessing hot or cold data in the presence of failed nodes. Our work also illustrates the impact of the choice of the storage code on the download time performance of users in the system.