Adaptive Flash Caching or Hybrid Tiering: Managing Snapshot-Induced Write Latency Variability

Goal: Reduce write latency spikes caused by snapshot copy‑on‑write operations in mixed OLTP workloads by deciding whether to emphasize adaptive flash caching or hybrid tiering.

Constraints: Snapshot depth varies, influencing metadata update frequency; workload locality affects cache hit rates; tiering policies may trigger data migrations that add latency. The exact magnitude of latency increase remains inconsistent across reports, making a universal recommendation unclear.

Questions: Which technique provides more predictable latency reduction when snapshot frequency is high? How does increasing snapshot depth alter the effectiveness of cache promotion versus tier migration? What trade‑offs exist between aggressive cache promotion and frequent tier movements in terms of overall I/O throughput?