DiaLSM: Towards Write-Stall-Free Performance via Shard-based LSM-tree
Log-Structured Merge-tree (LSM) aims to achieve high write throughput, but is known to experience the write stall problems when subjected to sustained write pressure. We quantify the occurrence probability and average duration of write stalls in LSM using a queuing model in the write--flush--compaction pipeline, moving beyond existing empirical analysis. The proposed model demonstrates that a monolithic LSM with a single pipeline cannot eliminate write stalls, revealing that internal sharding within the LSM offers an opportunity for fundamental write stall mitigation. To break this structural bottleneck, we propose DiaLSM, an internally shard-based LSM architecture. Instead of forcing all writes through one pipeline, DiaLSM splits the write--flush--compaction path into multiple independent shards and employs dynamic fallback redirection, allowing writes to proceed even when some shards stall. Implemented on RocksDB, DiaLSM achieves up to 2.4x higher throughput, 94% lower stalls, and significantly lower latency than state-of-the-art methods ADOC and Sub-Compaction, as demonstrated by db_bench, YCSB, and Sysbench OLTP evaluations.