diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java
index 5fce2a1..0389034 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java
@@ -893,6 +893,11 @@
     	return fileId;
     }
     
+    @Override
+    public IBufferCache getBufferCache() {
+        return bufferCache;
+    }
+    
     public byte getTreeHeight(IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame) throws HyracksDataException {
         ICachedPage rootNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, rootPage), false);
         rootNode.acquireReadLatch();
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IFreePageManager.java b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IFreePageManager.java
index 045ff9d..6db933d 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IFreePageManager.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IFreePageManager.java
@@ -26,4 +26,6 @@
 	public boolean isMetaPage(ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame);
 
 	public boolean isFreePage(ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame);
+	
+	public int getFirstMetadataPage();
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndex.java b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndex.java
index 1def8db..384e66f 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndex.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndex.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 /**
  * Interface describing the operations of tree-based index structures. Indexes
@@ -110,4 +111,9 @@
      * @return The file id of this index.
      */
     public int getFileId();
+    
+    /**
+     * @return BufferCache underlying this tree index.
+     */
+    public IBufferCache getBufferCache();
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame.java b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame.java
index 17519ae..9e95970 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame.java
@@ -41,4 +41,10 @@
 	public boolean hasSpace();
 
 	public void addFreePage(int freePage);
+	
+	// Special flag for LSM-Components to mark whether they are valid or not. 
+	public boolean isValid();
+	
+	// Set special validity flag.
+	public void setValid(boolean isValid);
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/frames/LIFOMetaDataFrame.java b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/frames/LIFOMetaDataFrame.java
index c87b84a..31c674d 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/frames/LIFOMetaDataFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/frames/LIFOMetaDataFrame.java
@@ -27,11 +27,15 @@
 
 public class LIFOMetaDataFrame implements ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame {
 
+    // Arbitrarily chosen magic integer.
+    protected static final int MAGIC_VALID_INT = 0x5bd1e995;
+    
 	protected static final int tupleCountOff = 0; //0
 	protected static final int freeSpaceOff = tupleCountOff + 4; //4
 	protected static final int maxPageOff = freeSpaceOff + 4; //8
 	protected static final int levelOff = maxPageOff + 12; //20
 	protected static final int nextPageOff = levelOff + 1; // 21
+	protected static final int validOff = nextPageOff + 4; // 25
 
 	protected ICachedPage page = null;
 	protected ByteBuffer buf = null;
@@ -65,7 +69,7 @@
 		return buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff) + 4 < buf.capacity();
 	}
 
-	// on bounds checking is done, there must be free space
+	// no bounds checking is done, there must be free space
 	public void addFreePage(int freePage) {
 		int freeSpace = buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff);
 		buf.putInt(freeSpace, freePage);
@@ -97,10 +101,11 @@
 	@Override
 	public void initBuffer(byte level) {
 		buf.putInt(tupleCountOff, 0);
-		buf.putInt(freeSpaceOff, nextPageOff + 4);
+		buf.putInt(freeSpaceOff, validOff + 4);
 		//buf.putInt(maxPageOff, -1);
 		buf.put(levelOff, level);
 		buf.putInt(nextPageOff, -1);
+		setValid(false);
 	}
 
 	@Override
@@ -112,4 +117,18 @@
 	public void setNextPage(int nextPage) {
 		buf.putInt(nextPageOff, nextPage);
 	}
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isValid() {
+        return buf.getInt(validOff) == MAGIC_VALID_INT;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setValid(boolean isValid) {
+        if (isValid) {
+            buf.putInt(validOff, MAGIC_VALID_INT);
+        } else {
+            buf.putInt(validOff, 0);
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManager.java b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManager.java
index f7e2e3b..e72de8b 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManager.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManager.java
@@ -199,4 +199,9 @@
 	public boolean isMetaPage(ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame) {
 		return metaFrame.getLevel() == META_PAGE_LEVEL_INDICATOR;
 	}
+
+    @Override
+    public int getFirstMetadataPage() {
+        return headPage;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTree.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTree.java
index ef481ba..f6849eb 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTree.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTree.java
@@ -43,11 +43,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOp;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMComponentFinalizer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMFileManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryFreePageManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.LSMHarness;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.LSMTreeIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.TreeIndexComponentFinalizer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapProvider;
 
@@ -71,6 +73,8 @@
     private final IFileMapProvider diskFileMapProvider;
     // List of BTree instances. Using Object for better sharing via ILSMTree + LSMHarness.
     private LinkedList<Object> diskBTrees = new LinkedList<Object>();
+    // Helps to guarantees physical consistency of LSM components.
+    private final ILSMComponentFinalizer componentFinalizer;
     
     // Common for in-memory and on-disk components.
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory insertLeafFrameFactory;
@@ -94,6 +98,7 @@
         this.diskBTrees = new LinkedList<Object>();
         this.fileManager = fileNameManager;
         lsmHarness = new LSMHarness(this);
+        componentFinalizer = new TreeIndexComponentFinalizer();
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -116,7 +121,8 @@
         List<Object> validFileNames = fileManager.cleanupAndGetValidFiles();        
         for (Object o : validFileNames) {     
             String fileName = (String) o;
-            BTree btree = createDiskBTree(diskBTreeFactory, fileName, false);
+            FileReference fileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
+            BTree btree = createDiskBTree(diskBTreeFactory, fileRef, false);
             diskBTrees.add(btree);
         }
     }
@@ -124,8 +130,9 @@
     @Override
     public void close() throws HyracksDataException {        
         for (Object o : diskBTrees) {
-            BTree btree = (BTree) o;
+            BTree btree = (BTree) o;            
             diskBufferCache.closeFile(btree.getFileId());
+            diskBufferCache.deleteFile(btree.getFileId(), false);
             btree.close();
         }
         diskBTrees.clear();
@@ -243,7 +250,7 @@
         ITreeIndexAccessor memBTreeAccessor = memBTree.createAccessor();
         ITreeIndexCursor scanCursor = memBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
         memBTreeAccessor.search(scanCursor, nullPred);
-        BTree diskBTree = createTempBTree(diskBTreeFactory);
+        BTree diskBTree = createFlushTarget();
         // Bulk load the tuples from the in-memory BTree into the new disk BTree.
         IIndexBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = diskBTree.beginBulkLoad(1.0f);
         try {
@@ -255,9 +262,6 @@
             scanCursor.close();
         }
         diskBTree.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
-        
-        String finalFileName = (String) fileManager.getFlushFileName();
-        rename(diskBTree, finalFileName);
         return diskBTree;
     }
 
@@ -272,46 +276,29 @@
         memBTree.create(memBTree.getFileId());
     }
     
-    private String getMergeTargetFileName(List<Object> mergingDiskBTrees) throws HyracksDataException {
+    private BTree createBulkLoadTarget() throws HyracksDataException {
+        String relFlushFileName = (String) fileManager.getRelFlushFileName();
+        FileReference fileRef = fileManager.createFlushFile(relFlushFileName);
+        return createDiskBTree(bulkLoadBTreeFactory, fileRef, true);
+    }
+    
+    private BTree createFlushTarget() throws HyracksDataException {
+        String relFlushFileName = (String) fileManager.getRelFlushFileName();
+        FileReference fileRef = fileManager.createFlushFile(relFlushFileName);
+        return createDiskBTree(diskBTreeFactory, fileRef, true);
+    }
+    
+    private BTree createMergeTarget(List<Object> mergingDiskBTrees) throws HyracksDataException {
         BTree firstBTree = (BTree) mergingDiskBTrees.get(0);
         BTree lastBTree = (BTree) mergingDiskBTrees.get(mergingDiskBTrees.size() - 1);
         FileReference firstFile = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileName(firstBTree.getFileId());
         FileReference lastFile = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileName(lastBTree.getFileId());
-        String fileName = (String) fileManager.getMergeFileName(firstFile.getFile().getName(), lastFile.getFile()
-                .getName());
-        return fileName;
+        String relMergeFileName = (String) fileManager.getRelMergeFileName(firstFile.getFile().getName(), lastFile.getFile().getName());
+        FileReference fileRef = fileManager.createMergeFile(relMergeFileName);
+        return createDiskBTree(diskBTreeFactory, fileRef, true);
     }
     
-    private void rename(BTree srcTmpBTree, String dest) throws HyracksDataException {
-        int tmpFileId = srcTmpBTree.getFileId();
-        FileReference srcFileRef = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileName(tmpFileId);
-        diskBufferCache.closeFile(tmpFileId);
-        diskBufferCache.deleteFile(tmpFileId, true);
-        FileReference destFileRef = fileManager.rename(srcFileRef, dest);
-        // File will be deleted during cleanup of merge().
-        diskBufferCache.createFile(destFileRef);        
-        int newFileId = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileId(destFileRef);
-        diskBufferCache.openFile(newFileId);
-        srcTmpBTree.open(newFileId);
-    }
-    
-    private BTree createTempBTree(BTreeFactory factory) throws HyracksDataException {
-        FileReference file = fileManager.createTempFile();
-        // File will be deleted during rename().
-        diskBufferCache.createFile(file);
-        int diskBTreeFileId = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileId(file);
-        // File will be closed during rename().
-        diskBufferCache.openFile(diskBTreeFileId);
-        // Create new BTree instance.
-        BTree diskBTree = factory.createBTreeInstance(diskBTreeFileId);
-        diskBTree.create(diskBTreeFileId);
-        // BTree will be closed during cleanup of merge().
-        diskBTree.open(diskBTreeFileId);
-        return diskBTree;
-    }
-    
-    private BTree createDiskBTree(BTreeFactory factory, String fileName, boolean createBTree) throws HyracksDataException {
-        FileReference fileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
+    private BTree createDiskBTree(BTreeFactory factory, FileReference fileRef, boolean createBTree) throws HyracksDataException {
         // File will be deleted during cleanup of merge().
         diskBufferCache.createFile(fileRef);
         int diskBTreeFileId = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileId(fileRef);
@@ -371,13 +358,13 @@
         mergedComponents.addAll(mergingDiskBTrees);
         
         // Nothing to merge.
-        if (mergedComponents.isEmpty()) {
+        if (mergedComponents.size() <= 1) {
+            cursor.close();
             return null;
         }
         
         // Bulk load the tuples from all on-disk BTrees into the new BTree.
-        //BTree mergedBTree = createMergeTargetBTree(mergedComponents);
-        BTree mergedBTree = createTempBTree(diskBTreeFactory);
+        BTree mergedBTree = createMergeTarget(mergingDiskBTrees);
         IIndexBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = mergedBTree.beginBulkLoad(1.0f);
         try {
             while (cursor.hasNext()) {
@@ -388,10 +375,7 @@
         } finally {
             cursor.close();
         }
-        mergedBTree.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
-        
-        String finalFileName = getMergeTargetFileName(mergingDiskBTrees);
-        rename(mergedBTree, finalFileName);
+        mergedBTree.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);       
         return mergedBTree;
     }
     
@@ -407,6 +391,7 @@
             BTree oldBTree = (BTree) o;
             FileReference fileRef = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileName(oldBTree.getFileId());
             diskBufferCache.closeFile(oldBTree.getFileId());
+            diskBufferCache.deleteFile(oldBTree.getFileId(), false);
             oldBTree.close();
             fileRef.getFile().delete();
         }
@@ -445,7 +430,7 @@
     
     @Override
     public IIndexBulkLoadContext beginBulkLoad(float fillFactor) throws TreeIndexException, HyracksDataException {
-        BTree diskBTree = createTempBTree(bulkLoadBTreeFactory);
+        BTree diskBTree = createBulkLoadTarget();
         LSMTreeBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = new LSMTreeBulkLoadContext(diskBTree);        
         bulkLoadCtx.beginBulkLoad(fillFactor);
         return bulkLoadCtx;
@@ -461,8 +446,6 @@
     public void endBulkLoad(IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException {
         LSMTreeBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = (LSMTreeBulkLoadContext) ictx;
         bulkLoadCtx.getBTree().endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx.getBulkLoadCtx());
-        String finalFileName = (String) fileManager.getFlushFileName();
-        rename(bulkLoadCtx.getBTree(), finalFileName);
         lsmHarness.addBulkLoadedComponent(bulkLoadCtx.getBTree());
     }
 
@@ -529,4 +512,14 @@
             return concreteCtx.cmp;
         }
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public ILSMComponentFinalizer getComponentFinalizer() {
+        return componentFinalizer;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IBufferCache getBufferCache() {
+        return diskBufferCache;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMComponentFinalizer.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMComponentFinalizer.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3423e75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMComponentFinalizer.java
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 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.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+
+public interface ILSMComponentFinalizer {
+    
+    /**
+     * @return Whether the given LSM component is considered valid. Used for guaranteeing
+     *         atomicity of LSM component writes.
+     */
+    public boolean isValid(Object lsmComponent) throws HyracksDataException;
+    
+    /**
+     * Marks the given LSM component as physically valid, synchronously forcing
+     * the necessary information to disk. This call only return once the
+     * physical consistency of the given component is guaranteed.
+     * 
+     */
+    public void finalize(Object lsmComponent) throws HyracksDataException;
+}
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMFileManager.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMFileManager.java
index af1b942..1184b76 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMFileManager.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMFileManager.java
@@ -35,17 +35,16 @@
 public interface ILSMFileManager {
 	public void createDirs();
     
-    public Object getFlushFileName();
+	public FileReference createFlushFile(String relFlushFileName);
+
+	public FileReference createMergeFile(String relMergeFileName);
+
+    public Object getRelFlushFileName();
 	
-	public Object getMergeFileName(String firstFileName, String lastFileName) throws HyracksDataException;
+	public Object getRelMergeFileName(String firstFileName, String lastFileName) throws HyracksDataException;
 	
 	public String getBaseDir();
 	
-	public FileReference createTempFile() throws HyracksDataException;
-	
-	// Atomically renames src file ref to dest on same IODevice as src, and returns file ref of dest.
-	public FileReference rename(FileReference src, String dest) throws HyracksDataException;
-	
 	// Deletes invalid files, and returns list of valid files from baseDir.
 	// The returned valid files are correctly sorted (based on the recency of data). 
 	public List<Object> cleanupAndGetValidFiles() throws HyracksDataException;
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMTree.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMTree.java
index e272ec8..dd1e3f9 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMTree.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/api/ILSMTree.java
@@ -58,4 +58,6 @@
     public void resetInMemoryComponent() throws HyracksDataException;
 
     public List<Object> getDiskComponents();
+    
+    public ILSMComponentFinalizer getComponentFinalizer();
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/freepage/InMemoryBufferCache.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/freepage/InMemoryBufferCache.java
index 1e2da77..303369e 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/freepage/InMemoryBufferCache.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/freepage/InMemoryBufferCache.java
@@ -174,4 +174,12 @@
             latch.writeLock().unlock();
         }
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public void force(int fileId, boolean metadata) throws HyracksDataException {
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void flushDirtyPage(ICachedPage page) throws HyracksDataException {
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/freepage/InMemoryFreePageManager.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/freepage/InMemoryFreePageManager.java
index 304aa43..846c274 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/freepage/InMemoryFreePageManager.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/freepage/InMemoryFreePageManager.java
@@ -93,4 +93,10 @@
     public boolean isFreePage(ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame) {
         return false;
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getFirstMetadataPage() {
+        // Method doesn't make sense for this free page manager.
+        return -1;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMHarness.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMHarness.java
index 033e68c..222d627 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMHarness.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMHarness.java
@@ -122,10 +122,17 @@
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Flushing LSM-Tree.");
         }
-        Object newDiskComponent = lsmTree.flush();
+        Object newComponent = lsmTree.flush();
+        
+        // The implementation of this call must take any necessary steps to make
+        // the new component permanent, and mark it as valid (usually this means
+        // forcing all pages of the tree to disk, possibly with some extra
+        // information to mark the tree as valid).
+        lsmTree.getComponentFinalizer().finalize(newComponent);
+        
         lsmTree.resetInMemoryComponent();
         synchronized (diskComponentsSync) {
-            lsmTree.addFlushedComponent(newDiskComponent);
+            lsmTree.addFlushedComponent(newComponent);
         }
     }
     
@@ -182,6 +189,7 @@
         Object newComponent = lsmTree.merge(mergedComponents);
         // No merge happened.
         if (newComponent == null) {
+            isMerging.set(false);
             return;
         }
         
@@ -210,6 +218,12 @@
             }
         }
         
+        // The implementation of this call must take any necessary steps to make
+        // the new component permanent, and mark it as valid (usually this means
+        // forcing all pages of the tree to disk, possibly with some extra
+        // information to mark the tree as valid).
+        lsmTree.getComponentFinalizer().finalize(newComponent);
+        
         // Cleanup. At this point we have guaranteed that no searchers are
         // touching the old on-disk Trees (localSearcherRefCount == 0).
         lsmTree.cleanUpAfterMerge(mergedComponents);
@@ -230,8 +244,13 @@
         searcherRefCount.decrementAndGet();
     }
     
-    public void addBulkLoadedComponent(Object index) {
-    	synchronized (diskComponentsSync) {
+    public void addBulkLoadedComponent(Object index) throws HyracksDataException {
+        // The implementation of this call must take any necessary steps to make
+        // the new component permanent, and mark it as valid (usually this means
+        // forcing all pages of the tree to disk, possibly with some extra
+        // information to mark the tree as valid).
+        lsmTree.getComponentFinalizer().finalize(index);
+        synchronized (diskComponentsSync) {
     		lsmTree.addFlushedComponent(index);
     	}
     }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMTreeFileManager.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMTreeFileManager.java
index c30a999..2c179e7 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMTreeFileManager.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/LSMTreeFileManager.java
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.FilenameFilter;
-import java.io.IOException;
 import java.text.Format;
 import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
@@ -35,7 +34,6 @@
 public class LSMTreeFileManager implements ILSMFileManager {
 
     protected static final String SPLIT_STRING = "_";
-    protected static final String TEMP_FILE_PREFIX = "lsm_tree";
     
     // Currently uses all IODevices registered in ioManager in a round-robin fashion.
     protected final IOManager ioManager;
@@ -44,6 +42,8 @@
     protected final Format formatter = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm-ss-SSS");    
     protected final Comparator<String> cmp = new FileNameComparator();
     protected final Comparator<ComparableFileName> recencyCmp = new RecencyComparator();
+    // To implement round-robin assignment of files onto I/O devices.
+    private int ioDeviceIndex = 0;
     
     public LSMTreeFileManager(IOManager ioManager, String baseDir) {
         if (!baseDir.endsWith(System.getProperty("file.separator"))) {
@@ -62,27 +62,19 @@
         }
     }
     
-    @Override
-    public FileReference createTempFile() throws HyracksDataException {
-        // Cycles through the IODevices in round-robin fashion.
-        return ioManager.createWorkspaceFile(TEMP_FILE_PREFIX);
+    public FileReference createFlushFile(String relFlushFileName) {        
+        // Assigns new files to I/O devices in round-robin fashion.
+        IODeviceHandle dev = ioManager.getIODevices().get(ioDeviceIndex);
+        ioDeviceIndex = (ioDeviceIndex + 1) % ioManager.getIODevices().size();
+        return dev.createFileReference(relFlushFileName);
     }
     
-    // Atomically renames src fileref to dest on same IODevice as src, and returns file ref of dest.
-    @Override
-    public FileReference rename(FileReference src, String dest) throws HyracksDataException {
-        FileReference destFile = new FileReference(src.getDevideHandle(), dest);
-        //try {
-            //Files.move(src.getFile().toPath(), destFile.getFile().toPath(), StandardCopyOption.ATOMIC_MOVE);
-            src.getFile().renameTo(destFile.getFile());
-        //} catch (IOException e) {
-        //    throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-        //}
-        return destFile;
+    public FileReference createMergeFile(String relMergeFileName) {
+        return createFlushFile(relMergeFileName);
     }
     
     @Override
-    public Object getFlushFileName() {
+    public Object getRelFlushFileName() {
         Date date = new Date();
         String ts = formatter.format(date);
         // Begin timestamp and end timestamp are identical.
@@ -90,7 +82,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Object getMergeFileName(String firstFileName, String lastFileName) throws HyracksDataException {        
+    public Object getRelMergeFileName(String firstFileName, String lastFileName) throws HyracksDataException {
         String[] firstTimestampRange = firstFileName.split(SPLIT_STRING);
         String[] lastTimestampRange = lastFileName.split(SPLIT_STRING);
         // Enclosing timestamp range.
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TreeIndexComponentFinalizer.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TreeIndexComponentFinalizer.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..09cfff3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TreeIndexComponentFinalizer.java
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 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.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMComponentFinalizer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.ICachedPage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.BufferedFileHandle;
+
+public class TreeIndexComponentFinalizer implements ILSMComponentFinalizer {
+   
+    @Override
+    public boolean isValid(Object lsmComponent) throws HyracksDataException {
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = (ITreeIndex) lsmComponent;
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = treeIndex.getBufferCache();
+        int metadataPage = treeIndex.getFreePageManager().getFirstMetadataPage();
+        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metadataFrame = treeIndex.getFreePageManager().getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame();
+        ICachedPage page = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(treeIndex.getFileId(), metadataPage), false);
+        page.acquireReadLatch();
+        try {
+            metadataFrame.setPage(page);
+            return metadataFrame.isValid();
+        } finally {
+            page.releaseReadLatch();
+            bufferCache.unpin(page);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void finalize(Object lsmComponent) throws HyracksDataException {
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = (ITreeIndex) lsmComponent;
+        int fileId = treeIndex.getFileId();
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = treeIndex.getBufferCache();
+        // Flush all dirty pages of the BTree. 
+        // By default, metadata and data are flushed async in the buffercache.
+        // This means that the flush issues writes to the OS, but the data may still lie in filesystem buffers.
+        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metadataFrame = treeIndex.getFreePageManager().getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame();        
+        int startPage = 0;
+        int maxPage = treeIndex.getFreePageManager().getMaxPage(metadataFrame);
+        for (int i = startPage; i <= maxPage; i++) {
+            ICachedPage page = bufferCache.tryPin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, i));
+            // If tryPin returns null, it means the page is not cached, and therefore cannot be dirty.
+            if (page == null) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            try {
+                bufferCache.flushDirtyPage(page);
+            } finally {
+                bufferCache.unpin(page);
+            }
+        }
+        // Forces all pages of given file to disk. This guarantees the data makes it to disk.
+        bufferCache.force(fileId, true);
+        int metadataPageId = treeIndex.getFreePageManager().getFirstMetadataPage();
+        ICachedPage metadataPage = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, metadataPageId), false);
+        metadataPage.acquireWriteLatch();
+        try {
+            metadataFrame.setPage(metadataPage);
+            metadataFrame.setValid(true);
+            // Flush the single modified page to disk.
+            bufferCache.flushDirtyPage(metadataPage);
+            // Force modified metadata page to disk.
+            bufferCache.force(fileId, true);
+        } finally {
+            metadataPage.releaseWriteLatch();
+            bufferCache.unpin(metadataPage);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTree.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTree.java
index c897943..9a831d8 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTree.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTree.java
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOp;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMComponentFinalizer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMFileManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryFreePageManager;
@@ -95,7 +96,9 @@
     // List of LSMRTreeComponent instances. Using Object for better sharing via
     // ILSMTree + LSMHarness.
     private final LinkedList<Object> diskComponents = new LinkedList<Object>();
-
+    // Helps to guarantees physical consistency of LSM components.
+    private final ILSMComponentFinalizer componentFinalizer;
+    
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories;
 
@@ -129,6 +132,7 @@
         this.btreeCmpFactories = btreeCmpFactories;
         this.rtreeCmpFactories = rtreeCmpFactories;
         this.lsmHarness = new LSMHarness(this);
+        componentFinalizer = new LSMRTreeComponentFinalizer();
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -152,13 +156,14 @@
         memComponent.getBTree().open(MEM_BTREE_FILE_ID);
         List<Object> validFileNames = fileManager.cleanupAndGetValidFiles();
         for (Object o : validFileNames) {
-            LSMRTreeFileNameComponent component = (LSMRTreeFileNameComponent) o;
-            RTree rtree = (RTree) createDiskTree(diskRTreeFactory, component.getRTreeFileName(), false);
-            BTree btree = (BTree) createDiskTree(diskBTreeFactory, component.getBTreeFileName(), false);
+            LSMRTreeFileNameComponent component = (LSMRTreeFileNameComponent) o;            
+            FileReference rtreeFile = new FileReference(new File(component.getRTreeFileName()));
+            FileReference btreeFile = new FileReference(new File(component.getBTreeFileName()));
+            RTree rtree = (RTree) createDiskTree(diskRTreeFactory, rtreeFile, false);
+            BTree btree = (BTree) createDiskTree(diskBTreeFactory, btreeFile, false);
             LSMRTreeComponent diskComponent = new LSMRTreeComponent(rtree, btree);
             diskComponents.add(diskComponent);
         }
-
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -168,8 +173,10 @@
             RTree rtree = diskComponent.getRTree();
             BTree btree = diskComponent.getBTree();
             diskBufferCache.closeFile(rtree.getFileId());
+            diskBufferCache.deleteFile(rtree.getFileId(), false);
             rtree.close();
             diskBufferCache.closeFile(btree.getFileId());
+            diskBufferCache.deleteFile(btree.getFileId(), false);
             btree.close();
         }
         diskComponents.clear();
@@ -183,45 +190,15 @@
         FileReference firstFile = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileName(firstTree.getFileId());
         FileReference lastFile = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileName(lastTree.getFileId());
         LSMRTreeFileNameComponent component = (LSMRTreeFileNameComponent) ((LSMRTreeFileManager) fileManager)
-                .getMergeFileName(firstFile.getFile().getName(), lastFile.getFile().getName());
+                .getRelMergeFileName(firstFile.getFile().getName(), lastFile.getFile().getName());
         return component;
     }
 
-    private void rename(ITreeIndex srcTmpTree, String dest) throws HyracksDataException {
-        int tmpFileId = srcTmpTree.getFileId();
-        FileReference srcFileRef = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileName(tmpFileId);
-        diskBufferCache.closeFile(tmpFileId);
-        diskBufferCache.deleteFile(tmpFileId, true);
-        FileReference destFileRef = fileManager.rename(srcFileRef, dest);
-        // File will be deleted during cleanup of merge().
-        diskBufferCache.createFile(destFileRef);
-        int newFileId = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileId(destFileRef);
-        diskBufferCache.openFile(newFileId);
-        srcTmpTree.open(newFileId);
-    }
-
-    private ITreeIndex createTempTree(TreeFactory diskTreeFactory) throws HyracksDataException {
-        FileReference file = fileManager.createTempFile();
-        // File will be deleted during rename().
-        diskBufferCache.createFile(file);
-        int diskTreeFileId = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileId(file);
-        // File will be closed during rename().
-        diskBufferCache.openFile(diskTreeFileId);
-        // Create new tree instance.
-        ITreeIndex diskTree = diskTreeFactory.createIndexInstance(diskTreeFileId);
-        diskTree.create(diskTreeFileId);
-        // Tree will be closed during cleanup of merge().
-        diskTree.open(diskTreeFileId);
-        return diskTree;
-    }
-
-    protected ITreeIndex createDiskTree(TreeFactory diskTreeFactory, String fileName, boolean createTree)
+    protected ITreeIndex createDiskTree(TreeFactory diskTreeFactory, FileReference fileRef, boolean createTree)
             throws HyracksDataException {
-        // Register the new tree file.
-        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
         // File will be deleted during cleanup of merge().
-        diskBufferCache.createFile(file);
-        int diskTreeFileId = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileId(file);
+        diskBufferCache.createFile(fileRef);
+        int diskTreeFileId = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileId(fileRef);
         // File will be closed during cleanup of merge().
         diskBufferCache.openFile(diskTreeFileId);
         // Create new tree instance.
@@ -236,10 +213,15 @@
 
     @Override
     public IIndexBulkLoadContext beginBulkLoad(float fillFactor) throws TreeIndexException, HyracksDataException {
-        RTree diskRTree = (RTree) createTempTree(diskRTreeFactory);
+    	// Note that by using a flush target file name, we state that the new
+        // bulk loaded tree is "newer" than any other merged tree.
+    	LSMRTreeFileNameComponent fileNames = (LSMRTreeFileNameComponent) fileManager.getRelFlushFileName();
+    	FileReference rtreeFile = fileManager.createFlushFile(fileNames.getRTreeFileName());
+        RTree diskRTree = (RTree) createDiskTree(diskRTreeFactory, rtreeFile, true);
         // For each RTree, we require to have a buddy BTree. thus, we create an
         // empty BTree.
-        BTree diskBTree = (BTree) createTempTree(diskBTreeFactory);
+        FileReference btreeFile = fileManager.createFlushFile(fileNames.getBTreeFileName());
+        BTree diskBTree = (BTree) createDiskTree(diskBTreeFactory, btreeFile, true);        
         LSMRTreeBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = new LSMRTreeBulkLoadContext(diskRTree, diskBTree);
         bulkLoadCtx.beginBulkLoad(fillFactor);
         return bulkLoadCtx;
@@ -249,17 +231,12 @@
     public void bulkLoadAddTuple(ITupleReference tuple, IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException {
         LSMRTreeBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = (LSMRTreeBulkLoadContext) ictx;
         bulkLoadCtx.getRTree().bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, bulkLoadCtx.getBulkLoadCtx());
-
     }
 
     @Override
     public void endBulkLoad(IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException {
         LSMRTreeBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = (LSMRTreeBulkLoadContext) ictx;
         bulkLoadCtx.getRTree().endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx.getBulkLoadCtx());
-        LSMRTreeFileNameComponent component = (LSMRTreeFileNameComponent) ((LSMRTreeFileManager) fileManager)
-                .getFlushFileName();
-        rename(bulkLoadCtx.getRTree(), component.getRTreeFileName());
-        rename(bulkLoadCtx.getBTree(), component.getBTreeFileName());
         LSMRTreeComponent diskComponent = new LSMRTreeComponent(bulkLoadCtx.getRTree(), bulkLoadCtx.getBTree());
         lsmHarness.addBulkLoadedComponent(diskComponent);
     }
@@ -400,7 +377,9 @@
         ITreeIndexCursor rtreeScanCursor = memRTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
         SearchPredicate rtreeNullPredicate = new SearchPredicate(null, null);
         memRTreeAccessor.search(rtreeScanCursor, rtreeNullPredicate);
-        RTree diskRTree = (RTree) createTempTree(diskRTreeFactory);
+        LSMRTreeFileNameComponent fileNames = (LSMRTreeFileNameComponent) fileManager.getRelFlushFileName();
+        FileReference rtreeFile = fileManager.createFlushFile(fileNames.getRTreeFileName());
+        RTree diskRTree = (RTree) createDiskTree(diskRTreeFactory, rtreeFile, true);
 
         // BulkLoad the tuples from the in-memory tree into the new disk RTree.
         IIndexBulkLoadContext rtreeBulkLoadCtx = diskRTree.beginBulkLoad(1.0f);
@@ -421,7 +400,8 @@
         ITreeIndexCursor btreeScanCursor = memBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
         RangePredicate btreeNullPredicate = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
         memBTreeAccessor.search(btreeScanCursor, btreeNullPredicate);
-        BTree diskBTree = (BTree) createTempTree(diskBTreeFactory);
+        FileReference btreeFile = fileManager.createFlushFile(fileNames.getBTreeFileName());
+        BTree diskBTree = (BTree) createDiskTree(diskBTreeFactory, btreeFile, true);
 
         // BulkLoad the tuples from the in-memory tree into the new disk BTree.
         IIndexBulkLoadContext btreeBulkLoadCtx = diskBTree.beginBulkLoad(1.0f);
@@ -435,12 +415,6 @@
             btreeScanCursor.close();
         }
         diskBTree.endBulkLoad(btreeBulkLoadCtx);
-
-        LSMRTreeFileNameComponent component = (LSMRTreeFileNameComponent) ((LSMRTreeFileManager) fileManager)
-                .getFlushFileName();
-        rename(diskRTree, component.getRTreeFileName());
-        rename(diskBTree, component.getBTreeFileName());
-
         return new LSMRTreeComponent(diskRTree, diskBTree);
     }
 
@@ -458,13 +432,18 @@
         mergedComponents.addAll(mergingComponents);
 
         // Nothing to merge.
-        if (mergedComponents.isEmpty()) {
+        if (mergedComponents.size() <= 1) {
+            cursor.close();
             return null;
         }
 
         // Bulk load the tuples from all on-disk RTrees into the new RTree.
-        RTree mergedRTree = (RTree) createTempTree(diskRTreeFactory);
-        BTree mergedBTree = (BTree) createTempTree(diskBTreeFactory);
+        LSMRTreeFileNameComponent fileNames = getMergeTargetFileName(mergingComponents);
+        FileReference rtreeFile = fileManager.createMergeFile(fileNames.getRTreeFileName());
+        FileReference btreeFile = fileManager.createMergeFile(fileNames.getBTreeFileName());
+        RTree mergedRTree = (RTree) createDiskTree(diskRTreeFactory, rtreeFile, true);
+        BTree mergedBTree = (BTree) createDiskTree(diskBTreeFactory, btreeFile, true);
+        
         IIndexBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = mergedRTree.beginBulkLoad(1.0f);
         try {
             while (cursor.hasNext()) {
@@ -476,10 +455,11 @@
             cursor.close();
         }
         mergedRTree.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
-
-        LSMRTreeFileNameComponent component = getMergeTargetFileName(mergingComponents);
-        rename(mergedRTree, component.getRTreeFileName());
-        rename(mergedBTree, component.getBTreeFileName());
+        
+        // Load an empty BTree tree.
+        IIndexBulkLoadContext btreeBulkLoadCtx = mergedBTree.beginBulkLoad(1.0f);
+        mergedBTree.endBulkLoad(btreeBulkLoadCtx);
+        
         return new LSMRTreeComponent(mergedRTree, mergedBTree);
     }
 
@@ -496,11 +476,13 @@
             BTree oldBTree = component.getBTree();
             FileReference btreeFileRef = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileName(oldBTree.getFileId());
             diskBufferCache.closeFile(oldBTree.getFileId());
+            diskBufferCache.deleteFile(oldBTree.getFileId(), false);
             oldBTree.close();
             btreeFileRef.getFile().delete();
             RTree oldRTree = component.getRTree();
             FileReference rtreeFileRef = diskFileMapProvider.lookupFileName(oldRTree.getFileId());
             diskBufferCache.closeFile(oldRTree.getFileId());
+            diskBufferCache.deleteFile(oldRTree.getFileId(), false);
             oldRTree.close();
             rtreeFileRef.getFile().delete();
         }
@@ -561,4 +543,14 @@
     public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
         return rtreeCmpFactories;
     }
+
+	@Override
+	public IBufferCache getBufferCache() {
+		return diskBufferCache;
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public ILSMComponentFinalizer getComponentFinalizer() {
+		return componentFinalizer;
+	}
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeComponentFinalizer.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeComponentFinalizer.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1a9d9b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeComponentFinalizer.java
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 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.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.rtree.impls;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMComponentFinalizer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.TreeIndexComponentFinalizer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.rtree.impls.LSMRTree.LSMRTreeComponent;
+
+public class LSMRTreeComponentFinalizer implements ILSMComponentFinalizer {
+
+	TreeIndexComponentFinalizer treeIndexFinalizer = new TreeIndexComponentFinalizer();
+	
+	@Override
+	public boolean isValid(Object lsmComponent) throws HyracksDataException {
+		LSMRTreeComponent component = (LSMRTreeComponent) lsmComponent;
+		return treeIndexFinalizer.isValid(component.getRTree())
+				&& treeIndexFinalizer.isValid(component.getBTree());
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void finalize(Object lsmComponent) throws HyracksDataException {
+		LSMRTreeComponent component = (LSMRTreeComponent) lsmComponent;
+		treeIndexFinalizer.finalize(component.getRTree());
+		treeIndexFinalizer.finalize(component.getBTree());
+	}
+}
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeFileManager.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeFileManager.java
index 07daa43..b30b48a 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeFileManager.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeFileManager.java
@@ -37,16 +37,16 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Object getFlushFileName() {
-        String baseName = (String) super.getFlushFileName();
+    public Object getRelFlushFileName() {
+        String baseName = (String) super.getRelFlushFileName();
         return new LSMRTreeFileNameComponent(baseName + SPLIT_STRING + RTREE_STRING, baseName + SPLIT_STRING
                 + BTREE_STRING);
 
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Object getMergeFileName(String firstFileName, String lastFileName) throws HyracksDataException {
-        String baseName = (String) super.getMergeFileName(firstFileName, lastFileName);
+    public Object getRelMergeFileName(String firstFileName, String lastFileName) throws HyracksDataException {
+        String baseName = (String) super.getRelMergeFileName(firstFileName, lastFileName);
         return new LSMRTreeFileNameComponent(baseName + SPLIT_STRING + RTREE_STRING, baseName + SPLIT_STRING
                 + BTREE_STRING);
     }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/BufferCache.java b/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/BufferCache.java
index f724d06..bbe5ba6 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/BufferCache.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/BufferCache.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
@@ -513,37 +514,56 @@
             setPriority(MAX_PRIORITY);
         }
 
+        public void cleanPage(CachedPage cPage, boolean force) {
+        	if (cPage.dirty.get()) {
+        		boolean proceed = false;
+        		if (force) {        			
+        			cPage.latch.writeLock().lock();
+        			proceed = true;
+        		} else {        			
+        			proceed = cPage.latch.readLock().tryLock();
+        		}
+                if (proceed) {
+                	try {
+                		// Make sure page is still dirty.
+                    	if (!cPage.dirty.get()) {
+                    		return;
+                    	}
+                        boolean cleaned = true;
+                        try {
+                            write(cPage);
+                        } catch (HyracksDataException e) {
+                            cleaned = false;
+                        }
+                        if (cleaned) {                           	                        	
+                        	cPage.dirty.set(false);
+                        	cPage.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
+                        	synchronized (cleanNotification) {
+                        		++cleanCount;
+                        		cleanNotification.notify();
+                        	}
+                        }
+                    } finally {
+                        if (force) {
+                        	cPage.latch.writeLock().unlock();
+                        } else {
+                        	cPage.latch.readLock().unlock();
+                        }
+                    }
+                } else if (shutdownStart) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException(
+                            "Cache closed, but unable to acquire read lock on dirty page: " + cPage.dpid);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        
         @Override
         public synchronized void run() {
             try {
                 while (true) {
-                    for (int i = 0; i < numPages; ++i) {
-                        CachedPage cPage = cachedPages[i];
-                        if (cPage.dirty.get()) {
-                            if (cPage.latch.readLock().tryLock()) {
-                                try {
-                                    boolean cleaned = true;
-                                    try {
-                                        write(cPage);
-                                    } catch (HyracksDataException e) {
-                                        cleaned = false;
-                                    }
-                                    if (cleaned) {
-                                        cPage.dirty.set(false);
-                                        cPage.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
-                                        synchronized (cleanNotification) {
-                                            ++cleanCount;
-                                            cleanNotification.notify();
-                                        }
-                                    }
-                                } finally {
-                                    cPage.latch.readLock().unlock();
-                                }
-                            } else if (shutdownStart) {
-                                throw new IllegalStateException(
-                                        "Cache closed, but unable to acquire read lock on dirty page: " + cPage.dpid);
-                            }
-                        }
+                    for (int i = 0; i < numPages; ++i) {                        
+                    	CachedPage cPage = cachedPages[i];
+                        cleanPage(cPage, false);
                     }
                     if (shutdownStart) {
                         break;
@@ -612,7 +632,7 @@
             fInfo = fileInfoMap.get(fileId);
             if (fInfo == null) {
 
-                // map is full, make room by removing cleaning up unreferenced files
+                // map is full, make room by cleaning up unreferenced files
                 boolean unreferencedFileFound = true;
                 while (fileInfoMap.size() >= maxOpenFiles && unreferencedFileFound) {
                     unreferencedFileFound = false;
@@ -683,7 +703,7 @@
     private boolean invalidateIfFileIdMatch(int fileId, CachedPage cPage, boolean flushDirtyPages)
             throws HyracksDataException {
         if (BufferedFileHandle.getFileId(cPage.dpid) == fileId) {
-            int pinCount;
+            int pinCount = -1;
             if (cPage.dirty.get()) {
                 if (flushDirtyPages) {
                     write(cPage);
@@ -694,7 +714,7 @@
                 pinCount = cPage.pinCount.get();
             }
             if (pinCount != 0) {
-                throw new IllegalStateException("Page is pinned and file is being closed");
+                throw new IllegalStateException("Page is pinned and file is being closed. Pincount is: " + pinCount);
             }
             cPage.invalidate();
             return true;
@@ -726,6 +746,25 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public void flushDirtyPage(ICachedPage page) throws HyracksDataException {
+    	// Assumes the caller has pinned the page.
+    	cleanerThread.cleanPage((CachedPage)page, true);
+    }
+	
+	@Override
+    public void force(int fileId, boolean metadata) throws HyracksDataException {
+    	BufferedFileHandle fInfo = null;
+    	synchronized (fileInfoMap) {
+    		fInfo = fileInfoMap.get(fileId);
+    		try {
+    			fInfo.getFileHandle().getFileChannel().force(metadata);
+    		} catch (IOException e) {
+    			throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+    		}
+    	}    	
+    }
+	
+    @Override
     public synchronized void deleteFile(int fileId, boolean flushDirtyPages) throws HyracksDataException {
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Deleting file: " + fileId + " in cache: " + this);
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/DebugBufferCache.java b/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/DebugBufferCache.java
index 40afc95..d610c7e 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/DebugBufferCache.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/DebugBufferCache.java
@@ -155,4 +155,14 @@
     public long getCloseFileCount() {
         return closeFileCount.get();
     }
+
+	@Override
+	public void flushDirtyPage(ICachedPage page) throws HyracksDataException {
+		bufferCache.flushDirtyPage(page);
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void force(int fileId, boolean metadata) throws HyracksDataException {
+		bufferCache.force(fileId, metadata);
+	}
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/IBufferCache.java b/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/IBufferCache.java
index ab0f03c..e8b407e 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/IBufferCache.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/IBufferCache.java
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@
 
     public void unpin(ICachedPage page) throws HyracksDataException;
 
+    public void flushDirtyPage(ICachedPage page) throws HyracksDataException;
+    
+    public void force(int fileId, boolean metadata) throws HyracksDataException;
+    
     public int getPageSize();
 
     public int getNumPages();
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestHarness.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestHarness.java
index ba9025f..3484097 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestHarness.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestHarness.java
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
     private static final long RANDOM_SEED = 50;
     private static final int DEFAULT_DISK_PAGE_SIZE = 256;
     private static final int DEFAULT_DISK_NUM_PAGES = 1000;
+    //private static final int DEFAULT_DISK_NUM_PAGES = 100;
     private static final int DEFAULT_DISK_MAX_OPEN_FILES = 200;
     private static final int DEFAULT_MEM_PAGE_SIZE = 256;
     private static final int DEFAULT_MEM_NUM_PAGES = 100;
@@ -101,7 +102,7 @@
     }
     
     public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
-        diskBufferCache.close();        
+        diskBufferCache.close();
         File f = new File(onDiskDir);
         // TODO: For some reason the dir fails to be deleted. Ask Vinayak about this.
         f.deleteOnExit();
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/LSMTreeFileManagerTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/LSMTreeFileManagerTest.java
index 76654db..4ae8734 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/LSMTreeFileManagerTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/LSMTreeFileManagerTest.java
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
     protected final static String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
     protected IOManager ioManager;
     protected String baseDir;
-
+    
     @Before
     public void setUp() throws HyracksException {
         TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE, DEFAULT_NUM_PAGES, DEFAULT_MAX_OPEN_FILES);
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
         File f = new File(baseDir);
         f.mkdirs();
     }
-
+    
     @After
     public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
         File f = new File(baseDir);
@@ -73,13 +73,13 @@
         int numFileNames = 100;
         long sleepTime = 5;
         for (int i = 0; i < numFileNames; i++) {
-            String flushFileName = (String) fileManager.getFlushFileName();
+            String flushFileName = (String) fileManager.getRelFlushFileName();
             if (testFlushFileName) {
                 fileNames.addFirst(flushFileName);
             }
             Thread.sleep(sleepTime);
             if (!testFlushFileName) {
-                String secondFlushFileName = (String) fileManager.getFlushFileName();
+                String secondFlushFileName = (String) fileManager.getRelFlushFileName();
                 String mergeFileName = getMergeFileName(fileManager, flushFileName, secondFlushFileName);
                 fileNames.addFirst(mergeFileName);
                 Thread.sleep(sleepTime);
@@ -103,26 +103,25 @@
         sortOrderTest(true);
         sortOrderTest(false);
     }
-
+    
     public void cleanInvalidFilesTest(IOManager ioManager) throws InterruptedException, IOException {
         ILSMFileManager fileManager = new LSMTreeFileManager(ioManager, baseDir);
         fileManager.createDirs();
-
+        
         List<FileReference> flushFiles = new ArrayList<FileReference>();
         List<FileReference> allFiles = new ArrayList<FileReference>();
-
+        
         int numFileNames = 100;
         long sleepTime = 5;
         // Generate a bunch of flush files.
         for (int i = 0; i < numFileNames; i++) {
-            FileReference flushTempFile = fileManager.createTempFile();
-            String flushFileName = (String) fileManager.getFlushFileName();
-            FileReference flushFile = fileManager.rename(flushTempFile, flushFileName);
+            String relFlushFileName = (String) fileManager.getRelFlushFileName();
+            FileReference flushFile = fileManager.createFlushFile(relFlushFileName);
             flushFiles.add(flushFile);
-            Thread.sleep(sleepTime);
+            Thread.sleep(sleepTime);            
         }
         allFiles.addAll(flushFiles);
-
+        
         // Simulate merging some of the flush files.
         // Merge range 0 to 4.
         FileReference mergeFile1 = simulateMerge(fileManager, flushFiles.get(0), flushFiles.get(4));
@@ -139,18 +138,19 @@
         // Merge range 50 to 79.
         FileReference mergeFile5 = simulateMerge(fileManager, flushFiles.get(50), flushFiles.get(79));
         allFiles.add(mergeFile5);
-
+        
         // Simulate merging of merge files.
         FileReference mergeFile6 = simulateMerge(fileManager, mergeFile1, mergeFile2);
         allFiles.add(mergeFile6);
         FileReference mergeFile7 = simulateMerge(fileManager, mergeFile3, mergeFile4);
         allFiles.add(mergeFile7);
-
-        // Set delete on exit for all files.
-        for (FileReference fileRef : allFiles) {
+        
+        // Create all files and set delete on exit for all files.
+        for (FileReference fileRef : allFiles) {            
+            fileRef.getFile().createNewFile();
             fileRef.getFile().deleteOnExit();
         }
-
+        
         // Populate expected valid flush files.
         List<String> expectedValidFiles = new ArrayList<String>();
         for (int i = 30; i < 50; i++) {
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@
         for (int i = 80; i < 100; i++) {
             expectedValidFiles.add(flushFiles.get(i).getFile().getName());
         }
-
+        
         // Populate expected valid merge files.
         expectedValidFiles.add(mergeFile5.getFile().getName());
         expectedValidFiles.add(mergeFile6.getFile().getName());
@@ -167,19 +167,20 @@
 
         // Sort expected files.
         Collections.sort(expectedValidFiles, fileManager.getFileNameComparator());
-
+        
         List<Object> validFiles = fileManager.cleanupAndGetValidFiles();
-
+        
         // Check actual files against expected files.
         assertEquals(expectedValidFiles.size(), validFiles.size());
         for (int i = 0; i < expectedValidFiles.size(); i++) {
-            File f = new File((String) validFiles.get(i));
+            String fileName = (String) validFiles.get(i);
+            File f = new File(fileName);
             assertEquals(expectedValidFiles.get(i), f.getName());
         }
-
+        
         // Make sure invalid files were removed from all IODevices.
         ArrayList<String> remainingFiles = new ArrayList<String>();
-        for (IODeviceHandle dev : ioManager.getIODevices()) {
+        for(IODeviceHandle dev : ioManager.getIODevices()) {
             File dir = new File(dev.getPath(), baseDir);
             FilenameFilter filter = new FilenameFilter() {
                 public boolean accept(File dir, String name) {
@@ -192,38 +193,38 @@
                 remainingFiles.add(f.getName());
             }
         }
-
+        
         Collections.sort(remainingFiles, fileManager.getFileNameComparator());
         // Check actual files in directory against expected files.
         assertEquals(expectedValidFiles.size(), remainingFiles.size());
         for (int i = 0; i < expectedValidFiles.size(); i++) {
-            assertEquals(expectedValidFiles.get(i), remainingFiles.get(i));
+            assertEquals(expectedValidFiles.get(i), remainingFiles.get(i));            
         }
     }
-
+    
     @Test
     public void singleIODeviceTest() throws InterruptedException, IOException {
         IOManager singleDeviceIOManager = createIOManager(1);
         cleanInvalidFilesTest(singleDeviceIOManager);
         cleanDirs(singleDeviceIOManager);
     }
-
+    
     @Test
     public void twoIODevicesTest() throws InterruptedException, IOException {
         IOManager twoDevicesIOManager = createIOManager(2);
         cleanInvalidFilesTest(twoDevicesIOManager);
         cleanDirs(twoDevicesIOManager);
     }
-
+    
     @Test
     public void fourIODevicesTest() throws InterruptedException, IOException {
         IOManager fourDevicesIOManager = createIOManager(4);
         cleanInvalidFilesTest(fourDevicesIOManager);
         cleanDirs(fourDevicesIOManager);
     }
-
+    
     private void cleanDirs(IOManager ioManager) {
-        for (IODeviceHandle dev : ioManager.getIODevices()) {
+        for(IODeviceHandle dev : ioManager.getIODevices()) {
             File dir = new File(dev.getPath(), baseDir);
             FilenameFilter filter = new FilenameFilter() {
                 public boolean accept(File dir, String name) {
@@ -237,7 +238,7 @@
             }
         }
     }
-
+    
     private IOManager createIOManager(int numDevices) throws HyracksException {
         List<IODeviceHandle> devices = new ArrayList<IODeviceHandle>();
         for (int i = 0; i < numDevices; i++) {
@@ -246,19 +247,16 @@
         }
         return new IOManager(devices, Executors.newCachedThreadPool());
     }
-
-    private FileReference simulateMerge(ILSMFileManager fileManager, FileReference a, FileReference b)
-            throws HyracksDataException {
-        FileReference tempMergeFile = fileManager.createTempFile();
-        String mergeFileName = (String) fileManager.getMergeFileName(a.getFile().getName(), b.getFile().getName());
-        FileReference mergeFile = fileManager.rename(tempMergeFile, mergeFileName);
+    
+    private FileReference simulateMerge(ILSMFileManager fileManager, FileReference a, FileReference b) throws HyracksDataException {
+        String relMergeFileName = (String) fileManager.getRelMergeFileName(a.getFile().getName(), b.getFile().getName());
+        FileReference mergeFile = fileManager.createMergeFile(relMergeFileName);
         return mergeFile;
     }
-
-    private String getMergeFileName(ILSMFileManager fileNameManager, String firstFile, String lastFile)
-            throws HyracksDataException {
+    
+    private String getMergeFileName(ILSMFileManager fileNameManager, String firstFile, String lastFile) throws HyracksDataException {
         File f1 = new File(firstFile);
         File f2 = new File(lastFile);
-        return (String) fileNameManager.getMergeFileName(f1.getName(), f2.getName());
+        return (String) fileNameManager.getRelMergeFileName(f1.getName(), f2.getName());
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeMergeTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeMergeTest.java
index d244683..ab05a88 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeMergeTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeMergeTest.java
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@
         return LSMRTreeTestContext.create(harness.getMemBufferCache(), harness.getMemFreePageManager(),
                 harness.getIOManager(), harness.getOnDiskDir(), harness.getDiskBufferCache(), harness.getDiskFileMapProvider(), fieldSerdes,
                 valueProviderFactories, numKeys, harness.getFileId());
-
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeMergeTestDriver.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeMergeTestDriver.java
index 11e5ba4..c939184 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeMergeTestDriver.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeMergeTestDriver.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMTreeIndexAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tests.AbstractRTreeTestContext;
@@ -45,18 +44,18 @@
         // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first one
         // to determine which field types to generate.
         if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
-            rTreeTestUtils.insertIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            rTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
         } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof DoubleSerializerDeserializer) {
-            rTreeTestUtils.insertDoubleTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            rTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadDoubleTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
         }
 
         int maxTreesToMerge = 3;
         for (int i = 0; i < maxTreesToMerge; i++) {
-            for (int j = 0; j < i; j++) {
-                if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
-                    rTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
-                } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
-                    rTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadDoubleTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+        	for (int j = 0; j < i; j++) {
+        		if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+        			rTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+                } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof DoubleSerializerDeserializer) {
+                	rTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadDoubleTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
                 }
             }