Performance analysis of parallel file system for I/O load balancing in distributed applications

Cluster environment these days is gaining recognition in equivalence to complex parallel machines. This provides environment to utilize distributed resources in an efficient way. Complex applications can be run on clusters and at the same time have advantage of the power of high-end machines due to the availability of resources in multiples across the cluster. In order to provide transparency in data location we need some kind of interface, which would provide access to data that has been distributed across the nodes. Parallel File System for Intel Networked Work-stations (PFSNIW) is one such parallel file system that has been developed by a team in Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. In this paper we are discussing the effect of different network parameters on the performance of PFSNIW. We also discuss the results of the experiments that have been conducted to get optimal values for different parameters that influence the performance of the file system.