Adaptive prefetching algorithm in disk controllers

A disk caching algorithm is presented that uses an adaptive prefetching scheme to optimize the system performance in disk controllers for traces with different data localities. The algorithm uses on-line measurements of disk transfer times and of inter-page fault rates to adjust the level of prefetching dynamically, and its performance is evaluated through trace-driven simulations using real workloads. The results confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of the new adaptive prefetching algorithm.