An Empirical Study of a Highly Available File System

In this paper we present results from a six-month empirical study of the high availability aspects of the Coda File System. We report on the service failures experienced by Coda clients, and show that such failures are masked successfully. We also explore the effectiveness and resource costs of key aspects of server replication and disconnected operation, the two high availability mechanisms of Coda. Wherever possible, we compare our measurements to simulation-based predictions from earlier papers and to anecdotal evidence from users. Finally, we explore how users take advantage of the support provided by Coda for mobile computing