diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/job/PregelixJob.java b/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/job/PregelixJob.java
index 31ad348..4cddaf0 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/job/PregelixJob.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/job/PregelixJob.java
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.GlobalAggregator;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.MessageCombiner;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.NormalizedKeyComputer;
-import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.VertexPartitioner;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.Vertex;
+import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.VertexPartitioner;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.io.VertexInputFormat;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.io.VertexOutputFormat;
 
@@ -72,6 +72,8 @@
     public static final String JOB_ID = "pregelix.jobid";
     /** frame size */
     public static final String FRAME_SIZE = "pregelix.framesize";
+    /** update intensive */
+    public static final String UPDATE_INTENSIVE = "pregelix.updateIntensive";
 
     /**
      * Constructor that will instantiate the configuration
@@ -190,4 +192,13 @@
     final public void setVertexPartitionerClass(Class<?> partitionerClass) {
         getConfiguration().setClass(PARTITIONER_CLASS, partitionerClass, VertexPartitioner.class);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Indicate if the job needs to do a lot of graph mutations or variable size updates
+     * 
+     * @param updateHeavyFlag
+     */
+    final public void setMutationOrVariableSizedUpdateHeavy(boolean variableSizedUpdateHeavyFlag) {
+        getConfiguration().setBoolean(UPDATE_INTENSIVE, variableSizedUpdateHeavyFlag);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/util/BspUtils.java b/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/util/BspUtils.java
index 759c850..03c37dc 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/util/BspUtils.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/api/util/BspUtils.java
@@ -494,4 +494,14 @@
     public static int getFrameSize(Configuration conf) {
         return conf.getInt(PregelixJob.FRAME_SIZE, -1);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Should the job use LSM or B-tree to store vertices
+     * 
+     * @param conf
+     * @return
+     */
+    public static boolean useLSM(Configuration conf) {
+        return conf.getBoolean(PregelixJob.UPDATE_INTENSIVE, false);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGen.java b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGen.java
index 30e617d..e066637 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGen.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGen.java
@@ -53,10 +53,16 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexLifecycleManagerProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IndexDropOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.dataflow.LSMBTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.ConstantMergePolicyProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.NoOpIOOperationCallback;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.NoOpOperationTrackerProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.SynchronousSchedulerProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.TransientLocalResourceFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.GlobalAggregator;
@@ -81,6 +87,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IRuntimeHookFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.bootstrap.IndexLifeCycleManagerProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.bootstrap.StorageManagerInterface;
+import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.bootstrap.VirtualBufferCacheProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.touchpoint.RuntimeHookFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.touchpoint.VertexIdPartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.touchpoint.VertexPartitionComputerFactory;
@@ -171,7 +178,7 @@
         IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider = ClusterConfig.getFileSplitProvider(jobId, PRIMARY_INDEX);
         TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor btreeCreate = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, null,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), new TransientLocalResourceFactoryProvider(),
+                getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), new TransientLocalResourceFactoryProvider(),
                 NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, btreeCreate);
         spec.setFrameSize(frameSize);
@@ -232,7 +239,7 @@
         typeTraits[1] = new TypeTraits(false);
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor btreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, null,
-                fieldPermutation, DEFAULT_BTREE_FILL_FACTOR, false, 0, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(),
+                fieldPermutation, DEFAULT_BTREE_FILL_FACTOR, false, 0, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(),
                 NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, btreeBulkLoad);
 
@@ -358,7 +365,7 @@
         typeTraits[1] = new TypeTraits(false);
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor scanner = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, recordDescriptor,
                 storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, null,
-                null, null, true, true, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), false, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                null, null, true, true, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), false, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, scanner);
 
         /**
@@ -427,7 +434,7 @@
 
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor scanner = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, recordDescriptor,
                 storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, null,
-                null, null, true, true, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), false, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                null, null, true, true, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), false, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, scanner);
 
         /**
@@ -458,7 +465,7 @@
 
         IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider = ClusterConfig.getFileSplitProvider(jobId, indexName);
         IndexDropOperatorDescriptor drop = new IndexDropOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManagerInterface,
-                lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory());
+                lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory());
 
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, drop);
         spec.addRoot(drop);
@@ -478,6 +485,16 @@
         }
     }
 
+    protected IIndexDataflowHelperFactory getIndexDataflowHelperFactory() {
+        if (BspUtils.useLSM(conf)) {
+            return new LSMBTreeDataflowHelperFactory(new VirtualBufferCacheProvider(), new ConstantMergePolicyProvider(
+                    3), NoOpOperationTrackerProvider.INSTANCE, SynchronousSchedulerProvider.INSTANCE,
+                    NoOpIOOperationCallback.INSTANCE, 0.01);
+        } else {
+            return new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory();
+        }
+    }
+
     /** generate non-first iteration job */
     protected abstract JobSpecification generateNonFirstIteration(int iteration) throws HyracksException;
 
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenInnerJoin.java b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenInnerJoin.java
index 548a4db..2bab291 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenInnerJoin.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenInnerJoin.java
@@ -35,14 +35,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOperation;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.MsgList;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.job.PregelixJob;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.util.BspUtils;
@@ -59,11 +54,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.MaterializingWriteOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.TerminationStateWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.base.IConfigurationFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.RuntimeHookOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.TreeIndexBulkReLoadOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IRecordDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IRuntimeHookFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.function.ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory;
@@ -136,9 +131,8 @@
         TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor scanner = new TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 recordDescriptor, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
                 comparatorFactories, JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), null, null, true, true,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 6,
-                new StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy,
-                rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete, rdFinal);
+                getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 6, new StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory),
+                preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy, rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete, rdFinal);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, scanner);
 
         /**
@@ -166,7 +160,7 @@
                 WritableComparator.get(vertexIdClass).getClass());
         TreeIndexBulkReLoadOperatorDescriptor btreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkReLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, secondaryFileSplitProvider, typeTraits, indexCmpFactories,
-                fieldPermutation, DEFAULT_BTREE_FILL_FACTOR, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory());
+                fieldPermutation, DEFAULT_BTREE_FILL_FACTOR, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory());
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, btreeBulkLoad);
 
         /**
@@ -221,7 +215,7 @@
          */
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor insertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdInsert, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(),
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(),
                 null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, insertOp);
 
@@ -232,7 +226,7 @@
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor deleteOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdDelete, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
                 comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, deleteOp);
 
         /** construct empty sink operator */
@@ -336,14 +330,9 @@
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[2];
         typeTraits[0] = new TypeTraits(false);
         typeTraits[1] = new TypeTraits(false);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-                typeTraits));
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-                typeTraits));
         IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor setUnion = new IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor(spec, rdFinal,
-                storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, secondaryFileSplitProviderRead, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, true, keyFields, keyFields, true, true,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), true);
+                storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, secondaryFileSplitProviderRead, typeTraits,
+                comparatorFactories, true, keyFields, keyFields, true, true, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), true);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, setUnion);
 
         /**
@@ -361,7 +350,7 @@
         IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor join = new IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories,
                 JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), keyFields, keyFields, true, true,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 6, new ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory),
+                getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 6, new ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory),
                 preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy, rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete, rdFinal);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, join);
 
@@ -376,7 +365,7 @@
         IFileSplitProvider secondaryFileSplitProviderWrite = ClusterConfig.getFileSplitProvider(jobId, writeFile);
         TreeIndexBulkReLoadOperatorDescriptor btreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkReLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, secondaryFileSplitProviderWrite, typeTraits,
-                indexCmpFactories, fieldPermutation, DEFAULT_BTREE_FILL_FACTOR, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory());
+                indexCmpFactories, fieldPermutation, DEFAULT_BTREE_FILL_FACTOR, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory());
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, btreeBulkLoad);
 
         /**
@@ -444,7 +433,7 @@
          */
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor insertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdInsert, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(),
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(),
                 null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, insertOp);
 
@@ -455,7 +444,7 @@
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor deleteOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdDelete, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
                 comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, deleteOp);
 
         /** construct empty sink operator */
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoin.java b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoin.java
index 1949172..3af8921 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoin.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoin.java
@@ -35,14 +35,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOperation;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.MsgList;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.job.PregelixJob;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.util.BspUtils;
@@ -59,9 +54,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.MaterializingWriteOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.TerminationStateWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.base.IConfigurationFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.RuntimeHookOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IRecordDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IRuntimeHookFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.function.ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory;
@@ -130,9 +125,8 @@
         TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor scanner = new TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 recordDescriptor, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
                 comparatorFactories, JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), null, null, true, true,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 5,
-                new StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy,
-                rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
+                getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 5, new StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory),
+                preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy, rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, scanner);
 
         /**
@@ -204,8 +198,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutation = new int[] { 0, 1 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor insertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdInsert, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(),
-                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), null,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, insertOp);
 
         /**
@@ -214,8 +208,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutationDelete = new int[] { 0 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor deleteOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdDelete, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(),
+                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, deleteOp);
 
         /** construct empty sink operator */
@@ -315,10 +309,6 @@
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[2];
         typeTraits[0] = new TypeTraits(false);
         typeTraits[1] = new TypeTraits(false);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-                typeTraits));
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-                typeTraits));
         INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories = new INullWriterFactory[2];
         nullWriterFactories[0] = VertexIdNullWriterFactory.INSTANCE;
         nullWriterFactories[1] = MsgListNullWriterFactory.INSTANCE;
@@ -332,11 +322,10 @@
                 vertexIdClass.getName(), MsgList.class.getName(), vertexIdClass.getName(), vertexClass.getName());
 
         IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor join = new IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), keyFields,
-                keyFields, true, true, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), true, nullWriterFactories, inputRdFactory, 5,
-                new ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy,
-                rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
+                spec, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories,
+                JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), keyFields, keyFields, true, true, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), true,
+                nullWriterFactories, inputRdFactory, 5, new ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory,
+                null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy, rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, join);
 
         /**
@@ -405,8 +394,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutation = new int[] { 0, 1 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor insertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdInsert, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(),
-                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), null,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, insertOp);
 
         /**
@@ -415,8 +404,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutationDelete = new int[] { 0 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor deleteOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdDelete, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(),
+                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, deleteOp);
 
         /** construct empty sink operator */
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoinSingleSort.java b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoinSingleSort.java
index 55a30f9..50949aa 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoinSingleSort.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoinSingleSort.java
@@ -34,14 +34,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOperation;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.MsgList;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.job.PregelixJob;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.util.BspUtils;
@@ -58,9 +53,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.MaterializingWriteOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.TerminationStateWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.base.IConfigurationFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.RuntimeHookOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IRecordDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IRuntimeHookFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.function.ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory;
@@ -132,9 +127,8 @@
         TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor scanner = new TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 recordDescriptor, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
                 comparatorFactories, JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), null, null, true, true,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 5,
-                new StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy,
-                rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
+                getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 5, new StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory),
+                preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy, rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, scanner);
 
         /**
@@ -196,8 +190,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutation = new int[] { 0, 1 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor insertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdInsert, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(),
-                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), null,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, insertOp);
 
         /**
@@ -206,8 +200,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutationDelete = new int[] { 0 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor deleteOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdDelete, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(),
+                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, deleteOp);
 
         /** construct empty sink operator */
@@ -304,10 +298,6 @@
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[2];
         typeTraits[0] = new TypeTraits(false);
         typeTraits[1] = new TypeTraits(false);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-                typeTraits));
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-                typeTraits));
         INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories = new INullWriterFactory[2];
         nullWriterFactories[0] = VertexIdNullWriterFactory.INSTANCE;
         nullWriterFactories[1] = MsgListNullWriterFactory.INSTANCE;
@@ -321,11 +311,10 @@
                 vertexIdClass.getName(), MsgList.class.getName(), vertexIdClass.getName(), vertexClass.getName());
 
         IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor join = new IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), keyFields,
-                keyFields, true, true, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), true, nullWriterFactories, inputRdFactory, 5,
-                new ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy,
-                rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
+                spec, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories,
+                JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), keyFields, keyFields, true, true, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), true,
+                nullWriterFactories, inputRdFactory, 5, new ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory,
+                null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy, rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, join);
 
         /**
@@ -382,8 +371,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutation = new int[] { 0, 1 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor insertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdInsert, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(),
-                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), null,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, insertOp);
 
         /**
@@ -392,8 +381,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutationDelete = new int[] { 0 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor deleteOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdDelete, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(),
+                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, deleteOp);
 
         /** construct empty sink operator */
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoinSort.java b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoinSort.java
index 4d58326..362e413 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoinSort.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/core/jobgen/JobGenOuterJoinSort.java
@@ -34,14 +34,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOperation;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.graph.MsgList;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.job.PregelixJob;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.api.util.BspUtils;
@@ -58,9 +53,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.MaterializingWriteOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.TerminationStateWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.base.IConfigurationFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.RuntimeHookOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IRecordDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IRuntimeHookFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.function.ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory;
@@ -129,9 +124,8 @@
         TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor scanner = new TreeSearchFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 recordDescriptor, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
                 comparatorFactories, JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), null, null, true, true,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 5,
-                new StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy,
-                rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
+                getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), inputRdFactory, 5, new StartComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory),
+                preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy, rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, scanner);
 
         /**
@@ -210,8 +204,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutation = new int[] { 0, 1 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor insertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdInsert, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(),
-                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), null,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, insertOp);
 
         /**
@@ -220,8 +214,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutationDelete = new int[] { 0 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor deleteOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdDelete, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(),
+                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, deleteOp);
 
         /** construct empty sink operator */
@@ -318,10 +312,6 @@
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[2];
         typeTraits[0] = new TypeTraits(false);
         typeTraits[1] = new TypeTraits(false);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-                typeTraits));
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-                typeTraits));
         INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories = new INullWriterFactory[2];
         nullWriterFactories[0] = VertexIdNullWriterFactory.INSTANCE;
         nullWriterFactories[1] = MsgListNullWriterFactory.INSTANCE;
@@ -335,11 +325,10 @@
                 vertexIdClass.getName(), MsgList.class.getName(), vertexIdClass.getName(), vertexClass.getName());
 
         IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor join = new IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), keyFields,
-                keyFields, true, true, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), true, nullWriterFactories, inputRdFactory, 5,
-                new ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory, null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy,
-                rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
+                spec, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories,
+                JobGenUtil.getForwardScan(iteration), keyFields, keyFields, true, true, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), true,
+                nullWriterFactories, inputRdFactory, 5, new ComputeUpdateFunctionFactory(confFactory), preHookFactory,
+                null, rdUnnestedMessage, rdDummy, rdPartialAggregate, rdInsert, rdDelete);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, join);
 
         /**
@@ -415,8 +404,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutation = new int[] { 0, 1 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor insertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdInsert, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(),
-                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutation, IndexOperation.INSERT, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(), null,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, insertOp);
 
         /**
@@ -425,8 +414,8 @@
         int[] fieldPermutationDelete = new int[] { 0 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor deleteOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, rdDelete, storageManagerInterface, lcManagerProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE,
-                new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory(), null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
+                comparatorFactories, null, fieldPermutationDelete, IndexOperation.DELETE, getIndexDataflowHelperFactory(),
+                null, NoOpOperationCallbackFactory.INSTANCE);
         ClusterConfig.setLocationConstraint(spec, deleteOp);
 
         /** construct empty sink operator */
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor.java
index 0b3a7fe..e450380 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexLifecycleManagerProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackFactory;
@@ -91,8 +90,7 @@
 
     public IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
             IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IIndexLifecycleManagerProvider lcManagerProvider,
-            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-            ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, boolean isForward, int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields,
             boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory opHelperFactory,
             boolean isRightOuter, INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories, IRecordDescriptorFactory inputRdFactory,
@@ -125,8 +123,7 @@
 
     public IndexNestedLoopJoinFunctionUpdateOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
             IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IIndexLifecycleManagerProvider lcManagerProvider,
-            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-            ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, boolean isForward, int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields,
             boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory opHelperFactory,
             boolean isSetUnion, IRecordDescriptorFactory inputRdFactory, int outputArity,
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
index 6dc713c..440ae86 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/std/IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -87,8 +87,7 @@
 
     public IndexNestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
             IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IIndexLifecycleManagerProvider lcManagerProvider,
-            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-            ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, boolean isForward, int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields,
             boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory opHelperFactory,
             boolean isSetUnion) {
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow/pom.xml b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow/pom.xml
index 962c9f6..2828451 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow/pom.xml
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow/pom.xml
@@ -1,18 +1,14 @@
-<!--
- ! Copyright 2009-2013 by The Regents of the University of California
- ! Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- ! you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- ! you may obtain a copy of the License from
- ! 
- !     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- ! 
- ! Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- ! distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- ! WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- ! See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- ! limitations under the License.
- !-->
-<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+<!-- ! Copyright 2009-2013 by The Regents of the University of California 
+	! Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); ! you may 
+	not use this file except in compliance with the License. ! you may obtain 
+	a copy of the License from ! ! http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 
+	! ! Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software ! 
+	distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, ! WITHOUT 
+	WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. ! See the 
+	License for the specific language governing permissions and ! limitations 
+	under the License. ! -->
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
 	<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 	<artifactId>pregelix-dataflow</artifactId>
 	<packaging>jar</packaging>
@@ -134,6 +130,13 @@
 		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+			<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common</artifactId>
+			<version>0.2.7-SNAPSHOT</version>
+			<type>jar</type>
+			<scope>compile</scope>
+		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
 			<artifactId>hyracks-control-cc</artifactId>
 			<version>0.2.7-SNAPSHOT</version>
 			<type>jar</type>
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/context/RuntimeContext.java b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/context/RuntimeContext.java
index b86691c..2008cf0 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/context/RuntimeContext.java
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-dataflow/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/dataflow/context/RuntimeContext.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.io.IOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexLifecycleManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IndexLifecycleManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.IVirtualBufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.BufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.ClockPageReplacementStrategy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.HeapBufferAllocator;
@@ -52,6 +53,7 @@
     private final ILocalResourceRepository localResourceRepository;
     private final ResourceIdFactory resourceIdFactory;
     private final IBufferCache bufferCache;
+    private final IVirtualBufferCache vBufferCache = null;
     private final IFileMapManager fileMapManager;
     private final Map<StateKey, IStateObject> appStateMap = new ConcurrentHashMap<StateKey, IStateObject>();
     private final Map<String, Long> giraphJobIdToSuperStep = new ConcurrentHashMap<String, Long>();
@@ -76,6 +78,8 @@
         bufferCache = new BufferCache(appCtx.getRootContext().getIOManager(), allocator, prs,
                 new PreDelayPageCleanerPolicy(Long.MAX_VALUE), fileMapManager, pageSize, numPages, 1000000,
                 threadFactory);
+        //vBufferCache = new MultitenantVirtualBufferCache(new VirtualBufferCache(new HeapBufferAllocator(), pageSize,
+        //        numPages / 2));
         ioManager = (IOManager) appCtx.getRootContext().getIOManager();
         lcManager = new IndexLifecycleManager();
         localResourceRepository = new TransientLocalResourceRepository();
@@ -110,6 +114,10 @@
         return bufferCache;
     }
 
+    public IVirtualBufferCache getVirtualBufferCache() {
+        return vBufferCache;
+    }
+
     public IFileMapProvider getFileMapManager() {
         return fileMapManager;
     }
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/pom.xml b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/pom.xml
index ae9f47e..54e2256 100644
--- a/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/pom.xml
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/pom.xml
@@ -148,6 +148,13 @@
 		</dependency>
 		<dependency>
 			<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+			<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common</artifactId>
+			<version>0.2.7-SNAPSHOT</version>
+			<type>jar</type>
+			<scope>compile</scope>
+		</dependency>
+		<dependency>
+			<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
 			<artifactId>hyracks-control-cc</artifactId>
 			<version>0.2.7-SNAPSHOT</version>
 			<type>jar</type>
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/bootstrap/VirtualBufferCacheProvider.java b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/bootstrap/VirtualBufferCacheProvider.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ec51047
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/bootstrap/VirtualBufferCacheProvider.java
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2013 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.bootstrap;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.IVirtualBufferCache;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.IVirtualBufferCacheProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.context.RuntimeContext;
+
+/**
+ * The virtual buffer cache provider
+ * 
+ * @author yingyib
+ */
+public class VirtualBufferCacheProvider implements IVirtualBufferCacheProvider {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    public VirtualBufferCacheProvider(){
+        
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public synchronized IVirtualBufferCache getVirtualBufferCache(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+        return RuntimeContext.get(ctx).getVirtualBufferCache();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/NoOpUpdateFunctionFactory.java b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/NoOpUpdateFunctionFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..88577c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pregelix/pregelix-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/pregelix/runtime/function/NoOpUpdateFunctionFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2013 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.pregelix.runtime.function;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IUpdateFunction;
+import edu.uci.ics.pregelix.dataflow.std.base.IUpdateFunctionFactory;
+
+/**
+ * No operation update function factory
+ * 
+ * @author yingyib
+ */
+public class NoOpUpdateFunctionFactory implements IUpdateFunctionFactory {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+    public static NoOpUpdateFunctionFactory INSTANCE = new NoOpUpdateFunctionFactory();
+
+    private NoOpUpdateFunctionFactory() {
+
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IUpdateFunction createFunction() {
+        return new IUpdateFunction() {
+
+            @Override
+            public void open(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, RecordDescriptor rd, IFrameWriter... writer)
+                    throws HyracksDataException {
+
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void process(Object[] tuple) throws HyracksDataException {
+
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void update(ITupleReference tupleRef, ArrayTupleBuilder cloneUpdateTb) throws HyracksDataException {
+
+            }
+
+        };
+    }
+
+}