The central file server
is a critical component of a grid environment. It is essential for
each application on a grid node to be able to efficiently access data.
Slowdowns caused by the performance of the file storage system could
reduce the effectiveness and benefit of using a grid. The amount of
storage required and the type of
I/O transactions help determine the
type of file storage system that best meets your needs.
Assuming that the SAS
jobs running on the grid perform an equal number of reads and writes,
it is recommended that the file system be able to sustain 50–70
MB per second per core. This level can be adjusted up or down, depending
on the level of
I/O activity of your SAS jobs. For information about
choosing and configuring a file system, see
Best Practices
for Data Sharing in a Grid Distributed SAS Environment,
which is available at
http://support.sas.com/rnd/scalability/grid/gridpapers.html.