Boot caching for boot acceleration within data storage systems

摘要

Technologies are described herein for boot caching to accelerate boot access in a data storage system providing boot consolidation. Boot caching may be provided to improve boot access for multiple clients concurrently booting from a common storage server. Boot statistics may be collected per user or client. The boot statistics can determine common patterns within the boot procedures of the clients and may be used to compute boot caching tables. These tables may then be used during boot caching to accelerate booting of clients. A boot caching mechanism can be implemented to support improved booting performance by caching data blocks common to multiple booting volumes. This approach can leverage the condition that much of the data loaded by clients at boot time may be substantially identical, because booting can involve loading the same operating system components into each client.