Efficient cache resource aggregation using adaptive multi-level exclusive caching policies.

Multi-level buffer cache hierarchies are now commonly seen in most client/server cluster configurations, especially in today’s big data application deployment. However, multi-level caching policies deployed so far typically use independent cache replacement algorithms in each level, which has two major drawbacks: (1) File blocks may be redundantly cached on multiple levels, reducing the actual aggregate cache usable size; (2) Less accurate replacement decisions at lower level caches due to weakened locality. Inefficient cache resource usage may result in noticeable performance degradation for big data applications.