Scalable Metadata Management Techniques for Ultra-Large Distributed Storage Systems -- A Systematic Review

Abstract

The provisioning of an efficient ultra-large scalable distributed storage system for expanding cloud applications has been a challenging job for researchers in academia and industry. In such an ultra-large-scale storage system, data are distributed on multiple storage nodes for performance, scalability, and availability. The access to this distributed data is through its metadata, maintained by multiple metadata servers. The metadata carries information about the physical address of data and access privileges. The efficiency of a storage system highly depends on effective metadata management. This research presents an extensive systematic literature analysis of metadata management techniques in storage systems. This research work will help researchers to find the significance of metadata management and important parameters of metadata management techniques for storage systems. Methodical examination of metadata management techniques developed by various industry and research groups is described. The different metadata distribution techniques lead to various taxonomies. Furthermore, the article investigates techniques based on distribution structures and key parameters of metadata management. It also presents strengths and weaknesses of individual existing techniques that will help researchers to select the most appropriate technique for specific applications. Finally, it discusses existing challenges and significant research directions in metadata management for researchers.