Comparing cost and performance of replication and erasure coding

Abstract: Data storage systems are more reliable than their individual components. In order to build highly reliable systems out of less reliable parts, systems introduce redundancy. In replicated systems, objects are simply copied several times with each copy residing on a different physical device. While such an approach is simple and direct, more elaborate approaches such as erasure coding can achieve equivalent levels of data protection while using less redundancy. This report examines the trade-offs in cost and performance between replicated and erasure encoded storage systems.