  We present IKAROS as a utility that permit us to form scalable storage
platforms. IKAROS enable us to create ad-hoc nearby storage formations and use
a huge number of I/O nodes in order to increase the available bandwidth. We
measure the performance and scalability of IKAROS versus the IBMs General
Parallel File System (GPFS) under a variety of conditions. The measurements are
based on benchmark programs that allow us to vary block sizes and to measure
aggregate throughput rates.
