Blurring the Line Between Oses and Storage Devices

Abstract

This report makes a case for more expressive interfaces between operating systems (OSes) and storage devices. In today's systems, the storage interface consists mainly of simple read and wri t e commands; as a result, OSes operate with little understanding of device-specific characteristics and devices operate with little understanding of system priorities. More expressive interfaces, together with extended versions of today's OS and firmware specializations, would allow the two to cooperate to achieve performance and functionality that neither can achieve alone.