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While characterizing the solution with PixStor 5, results for empty files showed that metadata performance as measured with MDtest version 3.3.0 and OpenMPI v4.0.1 was almost exactly the same for the system with or without the PowerVault ME484s expansions. The reason is that empty files are completely created inside of inodes, so the storage nodes and PowerVault ME4084 arrays are not used at all. Furthermore, using small files of 4 KiB that do not fit completely inside of inodes showed that results with or without the expansions are marginally different. Therefore, for this work, only the characterization included in the sections above titled Metadata Performance with MDtest Using Empty Files and Metadata Performance with MDtest Using 4 KiB Files will be included. Instead of duplicating results, metadata on NVMe devices, using a pair of PowerEdge R650s with 10 devices each, will be characterized as an alternative to the current high-demand metadata module that is 3x more dense. This alternative should have higher performance and be even more cost effective due to licensing price. Such characterization will be included along with the rest of the NVMe work at a later date.