Optimal Design of Linear Storage Hierarchies

The performance-oriented design of linear storage hierarchies whtch are operating m muluprogramming environments is considered An optimization model is superimposed upon an exponential queuing network model of the hierarchy, yielding a problem whose objectwe is to maximize throughput subject to a cost constraint. The decision variables are the speeds and capacmes of the various memory levels. It is shown that any local optimum is indeed a globally opumal solution to the problem. Several specml cases of and extensions to the basic problem are discussed, and some examples are given to dlustrate the usefulness and computational tractabihty of the problem. © 1981, ACM. All rights reserved.