Reducing file write latency

A computer system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon program code executable by the processor, the program code causing the processor to:
• pre-allocate at least one block for cache misses;
• receive, from a data source, (a) incoming data for storage in a file and (b) a target storage location for the incoming data;
• determine whether the target storage location corresponds to any cache entry of a plurality of cache entries;
• based on at least the target storage location not corresponding to any of the plurality of cache entries:
• write the incoming data to the pre-allocated block, and
• journal the writing of the incoming data to a journal;
• and
• acknowledge, to the data source, the writing of the incoming data, wherein a process executing in parallel with the program code is configured to commit the incoming data in the pre-allocated block with the file.

A non-transitory computer storage medium having stored thereon program code executable by a processor, the program code embodying a method comprising:

• pre-allocating at least one block for cache misses;
• receiving, from a data source, (a) incoming data for storage in a file and (b) a target storage location for the incoming data;
• determining whether the target storage location corresponds to any cache entry of a plurality of cache entries;
• based on at least the target storage location not corresponding to any of the plurality of cache entries:
• writing the incoming data to the pre-allocated block, and
• journaling the writing of the incoming data to a journal;
• and
• acknowledging, to the data source, the writing of the incoming data, wherein a process executing in parallel with the program code is configured to commit the incoming data in the pre-allocated block with the file.