Rahul Vishwakarma

Rahul Vishwakarma, Jinha Hwang, Soundouss Messoudi et al.

Disk scrubbing is a process aimed at resolving read errors on disks by reading data from the disk. However, scrubbing the entire storage array at once can adversely impact system performance, particularly during periods of high input/output operations. Additionally, the continuous reading of data from disks when scrubbing can result in wear and tear, especially on larger capacity disks, due to the significant time and energy consumption involved. To address these issues, we propose a selective disk scrubbing method that enhances the overall reliability and power efficiency in data centers. Our method employs a Machine Learning model based on Mondrian Conformal prediction to identify specific disks for scrubbing, by proactively predicting the health status of each disk in the storage pool, forecasting n-days in advance, and using an open-source dataset. For disks predicted as non-healthy, we mark them for replacement without further action. For healthy drives, we create a set and quantify their relative health across the entire storage pool based on the predictor's confidence. This enables us to prioritize selective scrubbing for drives with established scrubbing frequency based on the scrub cycle. The method we propose provides an efficient and dependable solution for managing enterprise disk drives. By scrubbing just 22.7% of the total storage disks, we can achieve optimized energy consumption and reduce the carbon footprint of the data center.

Rahul Vishwakarma, Shrey Dharmendra Modi, Vishwanath Seshagiri

The generation of high-quality synthetic data presents significant challenges in machine learning research, particularly regarding statistical fidelity and uncertainty quantification. Existing generative models produce compelling synthetic samples but lack rigorous statistical guarantees about their relation to the underlying data distribution, limiting their applicability in critical domains requiring robust error bounds. We address this fundamental limitation by presenting a novel framework that incorporates conformal prediction methodologies into Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). By integrating multiple conformal prediction paradigms including Inductive Conformal Prediction (ICP), Mondrian Conformal Prediction, Cross-Conformal Prediction, and Venn-Abers Predictors, we establish distribution-free uncertainty quantification in generated samples. This approach, termed Conformalized GAN (cGAN), demonstrates enhanced calibration properties while maintaining the generative power of traditional GANs, producing synthetic data with provable statistical guarantees. We provide rigorous mathematical proofs establishing finite-sample validity guarantees and asymptotic efficiency properties, enabling the reliable application of synthetic data in high-stakes domains including healthcare, finance, and autonomous systems.