diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelper.java b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelper.java
index 3e235b3..1060d28 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelper.java
@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public class BTreeDataflowHelper extends TreeIndexDataflowHelper {
@@ -37,12 +35,11 @@
     
     @Override
     public ITreeIndex createIndexInstance() throws HyracksDataException {
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexComparatorFactories());
         IBufferCache bufferCache = opDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx);
         ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaDataFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, indexFileId, 0,
                 metaDataFrameFactory);
-        return new BTree(bufferCache, treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexTypeTraits().length, cmp, freePageManager,
+        return new BTree(bufferCache, treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexTypeTraits().length, treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexComparatorFactories(), freePageManager,
                 treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexInteriorFactory(), treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexLeafFactory());
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
index 60af2e6..329e380 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -96,9 +96,9 @@
             btree = (BTree) treeIndexHelper.getIndex();
 
             // Construct range predicate.
-            lowKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(btree.getMultiComparator().getComparators(), lowKey);
+            lowKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(btree.getComparatorFactories(), lowKey);
             highKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils
-                    .getSearchMultiComparator(btree.getMultiComparator().getComparators(), highKey);
+                    .getSearchMultiComparator(btree.getComparatorFactories(), highKey);
             rangePred = new RangePredicate(null, null, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive, lowKeySearchCmp,
                     highKeySearchCmp);
 
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 846af3a..50934de 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
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReadWriteLock;
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantReadWriteLock;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
@@ -63,21 +64,19 @@
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
     private final int fieldCount;
-    private final MultiComparator cmp;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories;
     private final ReadWriteLock treeLatch;
-    private final RangePredicate diskOrderScanPredicate;
     private int fileId;
 
-    public BTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int fieldCount, MultiComparator cmp, IFreePageManager freePageManager,
+    public BTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int fieldCount, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, IFreePageManager freePageManager,
             ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory) {
         this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
         this.fieldCount = fieldCount;
-        this.cmp = cmp;
+        this.cmpFactories = cmpFactories;
         this.interiorFrameFactory = interiorFrameFactory;
         this.leafFrameFactory = leafFrameFactory;        
         this.freePageManager = freePageManager;
         this.treeLatch = new ReentrantReadWriteLock(true);
-        this.diskOrderScanPredicate = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, cmp, cmp);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -107,10 +106,9 @@
     private void diskOrderScan(ITreeIndexCursor icursor, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
         TreeDiskOrderScanCursor cursor = (TreeDiskOrderScanCursor) icursor;
         ctx.reset();
-
+        RangePredicate diskOrderScanPred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, ctx.cmp, ctx.cmp);
         int currentPageId = rootPage;
         int maxPageId = freePageManager.getMaxPage(ctx.metaFrame);
-
         ICachedPage page = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, currentPageId), false);
         page.acquireReadLatch();
         try {
@@ -119,7 +117,7 @@
             cursor.setCurrentPageId(currentPageId);
             cursor.setMaxPageId(maxPageId);
             ctx.cursorInitialState.setPage(page);
-            cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, diskOrderScanPredicate);
+            cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, diskOrderScanPred);
         } catch (Exception e) {
             page.releaseReadLatch();
             bufferCache.unpin(page);
@@ -134,10 +132,10 @@
         ctx.cursor = cursor;
         // simple index scan
         if (ctx.pred.getLowKeyComparator() == null) {
-            ctx.pred.setLowKeyComparator(cmp);
+            ctx.pred.setLowKeyComparator(ctx.cmp);
         }
         if (ctx.pred.getHighKeyComparator() == null) {
-            ctx.pred.setHighKeyComparator(cmp);
+            ctx.pred.setHighKeyComparator(ctx.cmp);
         }
         // we use this loop to deal with possibly multiple operation restarts
         // due to ongoing structure modifications during the descent
@@ -224,12 +222,12 @@
     
     private void insertUpdateOrDelete(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
         ctx.reset();
-        ctx.pred.setLowKeyComparator(cmp);
-        ctx.pred.setHighKeyComparator(cmp);
+        ctx.pred.setLowKeyComparator(ctx.cmp);
+        ctx.pred.setHighKeyComparator(ctx.cmp);
         ctx.pred.setLowKey(tuple, true);
         ctx.pred.setHighKey(tuple, true);
         ctx.splitKey.reset();
-        ctx.splitKey.getTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+        ctx.splitKey.getTuple().setFieldCount(ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
         // We use this loop to deal with possibly multiple operation restarts
         // due to ongoing structure modifications during the descent.
         boolean repeatOp = true;
@@ -258,7 +256,7 @@
         // This call only allows updating of non-key fields.
         // Updating a tuple's key necessitates deleting the old entry, and inserting the new entry.
         // The user of the BTree is responsible for dealing with non-key updates (i.e., doing a delete + insert). 
-        if (fieldCount == cmp.getKeyFieldCount()) {
+        if (fieldCount == ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount()) {
             throw new BTreeNotUpdateableException("Cannot perform updates when the entire tuple forms the key.");
         }
         insertUpdateOrDelete(tuple, ctx);
@@ -323,7 +321,7 @@
             IBTreeLeafFrame rightFrame = ctx.createLeafFrame();
             rightFrame.setPage(rightNode);
             rightFrame.initBuffer((byte) 0);
-            rightFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
+            rightFrame.setMultiComparator(ctx.cmp);
             ctx.leafFrame.split(rightFrame, tuple, ctx.splitKey);
 
             ctx.smPages.add(pageId);
@@ -412,7 +410,7 @@
                     IBTreeFrame rightFrame = ctx.createInteriorFrame();
                     rightFrame.setPage(rightNode);
                     rightFrame.initBuffer((byte) ctx.interiorFrame.getLevel());
-                    rightFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
+                    rightFrame.setMultiComparator(ctx.cmp);
                     // instead of creating a new split key, use the existing
                     // splitKey
                     ctx.interiorFrame.split(rightFrame, ctx.splitKey.getTuple(), ctx.splitKey);
@@ -640,11 +638,13 @@
             releaseLatch(node, ctx, unsafeIsLeaf);
             bufferCache.unpin(node);
             BTreeException wrappedException = new BTreeException(e);
+            ctx.exceptionHandled = true;
             throw wrappedException;
         }
     }
 
     public class BulkLoadContext implements IIndexBulkLoadContext {
+        public final MultiComparator cmp;
         public final int slotSize;
         public final int leafMaxBytes;
         public final int interiorMaxBytes;
@@ -654,12 +654,12 @@
         private final IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame;
         private final IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame;
         private final ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame;
-
-        private final ITreeIndexTupleWriter tupleWriter;
-
+        private final ITreeIndexTupleWriter tupleWriter;        
+        
         public BulkLoadContext(float fillFactor, IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame, IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame,
-                ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException {
-
+                ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws HyracksDataException {
+            this.cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
+            
         	leafFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
         	interiorFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
         	
@@ -713,7 +713,7 @@
         ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(frontier.page);
 
         ITupleReference tuple = ctx.splitKey.getTuple();
-        int spaceNeeded = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(tuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount()) + ctx.slotSize + 4;
+        int spaceNeeded = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(tuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount()) + ctx.slotSize + 4;
         int spaceUsed = ctx.interiorFrame.getBuffer().capacity() - ctx.interiorFrame.getTotalFreeSpace();
         if (spaceUsed + spaceNeeded > ctx.interiorMaxBytes) {
 
@@ -721,10 +721,10 @@
             tuple = copyKey.getTuple();
 
             frontier.lastTuple.resetByTupleIndex(ctx.interiorFrame, ctx.interiorFrame.getTupleCount() - 1);
-            int splitKeySize = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frontier.lastTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+            int splitKeySize = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frontier.lastTuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
             ctx.splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
             ctx.tupleWriter
-                    .writeTupleFields(frontier.lastTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount(), ctx.splitKey.getBuffer().array(), 0);
+                    .writeTupleFields(frontier.lastTuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount(), ctx.splitKey.getBuffer().array(), 0);
             ctx.splitKey.getTuple().resetByTupleOffset(ctx.splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
             ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(frontier.pageId);
 
@@ -754,8 +754,8 @@
     	}
     	
         BulkLoadContext ctx = new BulkLoadContext(fillFactor, leafFrame,
-                (IBTreeInteriorFrame)interiorFrameFactory.createFrame(), freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame(), cmp);
-        ctx.splitKey.getTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+                (IBTreeInteriorFrame)interiorFrameFactory.createFrame(), freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame(), cmpFactories);
+        ctx.splitKey.getTuple().setFieldCount(ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
         return ctx;
     }
 
@@ -776,9 +776,9 @@
 
         if (spaceUsed + spaceNeeded > ctx.leafMaxBytes) {
             leafFrontier.lastTuple.resetByTupleIndex(leafFrame, leafFrame.getTupleCount() - 1);
-            int splitKeySize = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(leafFrontier.lastTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+            int splitKeySize = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(leafFrontier.lastTuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
             ctx.splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
-            ctx.tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(leafFrontier.lastTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount(),
+            ctx.tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(leafFrontier.lastTuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount(),
                     ctx.splitKey.getBuffer().array(), 0);
             ctx.splitKey.getTuple().resetByTupleOffset(ctx.splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
             ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(leafFrontier.pageId);
@@ -835,7 +835,7 @@
 
     private BTreeOpContext createOpContext() {
         return new BTreeOpContext(leafFrameFactory, interiorFrameFactory, freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory()
-                .createFrame(), cmp);
+                .createFrame(), cmpFactories);
     }
     
     public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getInteriorFrameFactory() {
@@ -846,8 +846,8 @@
         return leafFrameFactory;
     }
 
-    public MultiComparator getMultiComparator() {
-        return cmp;
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
+        return cmpFactories;
     }
 
     public IFreePageManager getFreePageManager() {
@@ -904,15 +904,16 @@
     @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes") 
     public String printTree(IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame, IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes)
             throws Exception {
+        MultiComparator cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
         byte treeHeight = getTreeHeight(leafFrame);
         StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
-        printTree(rootPage, null, false, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight, keySerdes, strBuilder);
+        printTree(rootPage, null, false, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight, keySerdes, strBuilder, cmp);
         return strBuilder.toString();
     }
 
     @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes") 
     public void printTree(int pageId, ICachedPage parent, boolean unpin, IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame,
-            IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, byte treeHeight, ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes, StringBuilder strBuilder) throws Exception {
+            IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, byte treeHeight, ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes, StringBuilder strBuilder, MultiComparator cmp) throws Exception {
         ICachedPage node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
         node.acquireReadLatch();
         try {
@@ -940,7 +941,7 @@
             if (!interiorFrame.isLeaf()) {
                 ArrayList<Integer> children = ((BTreeNSMInteriorFrame) (interiorFrame)).getChildren(cmp);
                 for (int i = 0; i < children.size(); i++) {
-                    printTree(children.get(i), node, i == children.size() - 1, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight, keySerdes, strBuilder);
+                    printTree(children.get(i), node, i == children.size() - 1, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight, keySerdes, strBuilder, cmp);
                 }
             } else {
                 node.releaseReadLatch();
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeOpContext.java b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeOpContext.java
index 75a73e5..8a0b381 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeOpContext.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeOpContext.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeInteriorFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeLeafFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexOpContext;
@@ -27,7 +28,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
 public class BTreeOpContext implements IIndexOpContext {
-    private final int INIT_ARRAYLIST_SIZE = 6; 
+    private final int INIT_ARRAYLIST_SIZE = 6;
+    public MultiComparator cmp;
     public ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
     public ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
     public IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame;
@@ -45,7 +47,8 @@
     public boolean exceptionHandled;
     
     public BTreeOpContext(ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-            ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, MultiComparator cmp) {
+            ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) {
+        this.cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
         this.leafFrameFactory = leafFrameFactory;
         this.leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         if (leafFrame != null) {
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/IOrderedIndexTestContext.java b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/IOrderedIndexTestContext.java
index fb92ed3..0102180 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/IOrderedIndexTestContext.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/IOrderedIndexTestContext.java
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
 import java.util.TreeSet;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@
     public int getKeyFieldCount();
         
 	public ISerializerDeserializer[] getFieldSerdes();
+	
+	public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories();
     
     public ITreeIndexAccessor getIndexAccessor();
     
@@ -40,8 +42,6 @@
     
     public ArrayTupleBuilder getTupleBuilder();
 
-    public IBinaryComparator[] getComparators();
-    
     public CheckTuple createIntCheckTuple(int[] fieldValues);
     
     public CheckTuple createStringCheckTuple(String[] fieldValues);
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java
index 12495a6..2d1b136 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 
 import org.junit.Test;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
     protected static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(OrderedIndexExamplesTest.class.getName());
     protected final Random rnd = new Random(50);
 
-    protected abstract ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparator[] cmps)
+    protected abstract ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories)
             throws TreeIndexException;
 
     protected abstract int getIndexFileId();
@@ -77,11 +77,11 @@
 
         // Declare keys.
         int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
         int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
-        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmps);
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
         treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
         treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
 
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@
         ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
         TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, 1000);
 
-        rangeSearch(cmps, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
+        rangeSearch(cmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
 
         treeIndex.close();
     }
@@ -155,12 +155,12 @@
 
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 2;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
         int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
-        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmps);
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
         treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
         treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
 
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@
         TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, 3);
 
         // Prefix-Range search in [-3, 3]
-        rangeSearch(cmps, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
+        rangeSearch(cmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
 
         treeIndex.close();
     }
@@ -233,11 +233,11 @@
 
         // Declare keys.
         int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
         int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
-        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmps);
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
         treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
         treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
 
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@
         ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
         TupleUtils.createTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, fieldSerdes, "cc7");
 
-        rangeSearch(cmps, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
+        rangeSearch(cmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
 
         treeIndex.close();
     }
@@ -312,11 +312,11 @@
 
         // Declare keys.
         int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
         int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
-        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmps);
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
         treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
         treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
 
@@ -413,11 +413,11 @@
 
         // Declare keys.
         int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
         int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
-        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmps);
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
         treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
         treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
 
@@ -499,12 +499,12 @@
 
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 2;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
         int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
-        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmps);
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
         treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
         treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
 
@@ -540,7 +540,7 @@
         TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, 44500);
 
         // Prefix-Range search in [44444, 44500]
-        rangeSearch(cmps, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
+        rangeSearch(cmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
 
         treeIndex.close();
     }
@@ -597,7 +597,7 @@
 		}
 	}
 
-    private void rangeSearch(IBinaryComparator[] cmps, ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+    private void rangeSearch(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
             ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey) throws Exception {
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             String lowKeyString = TupleUtils.printTuple(lowKey, fieldSerdes);
@@ -605,8 +605,8 @@
             LOGGER.info("Range-Search in: [ " + lowKeyString + ", " + highKeyString + "]");
         }
         ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
-        MultiComparator lowKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmps, lowKey);
-        MultiComparator highKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmps, highKey);
+        MultiComparator lowKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmpFactories, lowKey);
+        MultiComparator highKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmpFactories, highKey);
         RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, true, true, lowKeySearchCmp,
                 highKeySearchCmp);
         indexAccessor.search(rangeCursor, rangePred);
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java
index 9de6f37..7843082 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/tests/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java
@@ -172,8 +172,8 @@
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Testing Range Search.");
         }
-        MultiComparator lowKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparators(), lowKey);
-        MultiComparator highKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparators(), highKey);
+        MultiComparator lowKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), lowKey);
+        MultiComparator highKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), highKey);
         ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor();
         RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive, lowKeyCmp, highKeyCmp);
         ctx.getIndexAccessor().search(searchCursor, rangePred);
@@ -227,8 +227,8 @@
         for (CheckTuple checkTuple : ctx.getCheckTuples()) {
             createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, lowKeyBuilder, lowKey, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
             createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, highKeyBuilder, highKey, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
-            MultiComparator lowKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparators(), lowKey);
-            MultiComparator highKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparators(), highKey);
+            MultiComparator lowKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), lowKey);
+            MultiComparator highKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), highKey);
                         
             rangePred.setLowKey(lowKey, true);
             rangePred.setHighKey(highKey, true);
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeUtils.java b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeUtils.java
index a9adfbf..556ce04 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeUtils.java
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeException;
@@ -20,27 +21,24 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public class BTreeUtils {
-    public static BTree createBTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int btreeFileId, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparator[] cmps, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws BTreeException {
-    	MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+    public static BTree createBTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int btreeFileId, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws BTreeException {
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = getLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory, leafType);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, typeTraits.length, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, typeTraits.length, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         return btree;
     }
     
-    public static MultiComparator getSearchMultiComparator(IBinaryComparator[] cmps, ITupleReference searchKey) {
-        if (searchKey == null) {
-        	return new MultiComparator(cmps);
-        }
-    	if (cmps.length == searchKey.getFieldCount()) {
-            return new MultiComparator(cmps);
+    // Creates a new MultiComparator by constructing new IBinaryComparators.
+    public static MultiComparator getSearchMultiComparator(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, ITupleReference searchKey) {
+        if (searchKey == null || cmpFactories.length == searchKey.getFieldCount()) {
+            return MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
         }
         IBinaryComparator[] newCmps = new IBinaryComparator[searchKey.getFieldCount()];
         for (int i = 0; i < searchKey.getFieldCount(); i++) {
-        	newCmps[i] = cmps[i];
+            newCmps[i] = cmpFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
         }
         return new MultiComparator(newCmps);
     }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/MultiComparator.java b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/MultiComparator.java
index d911d96..91db6ff 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/MultiComparator.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/MultiComparator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 
 public class MultiComparator {
@@ -62,4 +63,12 @@
     public int getKeyFieldCount() {
 		return cmps.length;
 	}
+    
+    public static MultiComparator create(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) {
+        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[cmpFactories.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < cmpFactories.length; i++) {
+            cmps[i] = cmpFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
+        }
+        return new MultiComparator(cmps);
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/util/IndexUtils.java b/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/util/IndexUtils.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 389855f..0000000
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/util/IndexUtils.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * 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.common.util;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-
-public class IndexUtils {
-	public static MultiComparator createMultiComparator(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) {
-    	IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[cmpFactories.length];
-    	for (int i = 0; i < cmpFactories.length; i++) {
-    		cmps[i] = cmpFactories[i].createBinaryComparator(); 
-    	}
-    	return new MultiComparator(cmps);
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexDataflowHelper.java b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexDataflowHelper.java
index 71717e4..a7dc7d5 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexDataflowHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexDataflowHelper.java
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IndexDataflowHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex;
 
@@ -46,10 +44,9 @@
     @Override
     public IIndex createIndexInstance() throws HyracksDataException {
         IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor invIndexOpDesc = (IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor) opDesc;
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(invIndexOpDesc.getInvListsComparatorFactories());
         // Assumes btreeDataflowHelper.init() has already been called.
         BTree btree = (BTree) btreeDataflowHelper.getIndex();
         return new InvertedIndex(opDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx), btree,
-                invIndexOpDesc.getInvListsTypeTraits(), cmp);
+                invIndexOpDesc.getInvListsTypeTraits(), invIndexOpDesc.getInvListsComparatorFactories());
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndex.java b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndex.java
index d4b5827..6d9fb0e 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndex.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndex.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -57,17 +58,17 @@
     private IBufferCache bufferCache;
     private int fileId;
     private final ITypeTraits[] invListTypeTraits;
-    private final MultiComparator invListCmp;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListCmpFactories;
     private final int numTokenFields;
     private final int numInvListKeys;
 
-    public InvertedIndex(IBufferCache bufferCache, BTree btree, ITypeTraits[] invListTypeTraits, MultiComparator invListCmp) {
+    public InvertedIndex(IBufferCache bufferCache, BTree btree, ITypeTraits[] invListTypeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListCmpFactories) {
         this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
         this.btree = btree;
-        this.invListCmp = invListCmp;
+        this.invListCmpFactories = invListCmpFactories;
         this.invListTypeTraits = invListTypeTraits;
-        this.numTokenFields = btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount();
-        this.numInvListKeys = invListCmp.getKeyFieldCount();
+        this.numTokenFields = btree.getComparatorFactories().length;
+        this.numInvListKeys = invListCmpFactories.length;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -225,8 +226,8 @@
         return fileId;
     }
 
-    public MultiComparator getInvListElementCmp() {
-        return invListCmp;
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getInvListElementCmpFactories() {
+        return invListCmpFactories;
     }
     
     public ITypeTraits[] getTypeTraits() {
@@ -258,7 +259,7 @@
 
         public BulkLoadContext(IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder, int hyracksFrameSize, float btreeFillFactor) {
             this.invListBuilder = invListBuilder;
-            this.tokenCmp = btree.getMultiComparator();
+            this.tokenCmp = MultiComparator.create(btree.getComparatorFactories());
             this.btreeTupleBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(hyracksFrameSize);
             this.btreeTupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(btree.getFieldCount());
             this.btreeTupleAppender = new FrameTupleAppender(hyracksFrameSize);
@@ -274,7 +275,7 @@
         }
 
         public void init(int startPageId, int fileId) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
-            btreeBulkLoadCtx = btree.beginBulkLoad(BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
+            btreeBulkLoadCtx = btree.beginBulkLoad(btreeFillFactor);
             currentPageId = startPageId;
             currentPage = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, currentPageId), true);
             currentPage.acquireWriteLatch();
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcher.java b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcher.java
index b6501f8..220f35b 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcher.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcher.java
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@
     protected ByteBuffer queryTokenFrame;
 
     protected final InvertedIndex invIndex;
+    protected final MultiComparator invListCmp;
     protected final IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer;
     protected final ITypeTraits[] invListFieldsWithCount;
     protected int occurrenceThreshold;
@@ -89,6 +90,7 @@
     public TOccurrenceSearcher(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, InvertedIndex invIndex, IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer) {
         this.ctx = ctx;
         this.invIndex = invIndex;
+        this.invListCmp = MultiComparator.create(invIndex.getInvListElementCmpFactories());
         this.queryTokenizer = queryTokenizer;
 
         leafFrame = invIndex.getBTree().getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
@@ -112,7 +114,7 @@
         newResultBuffers.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
         prevResultBuffers.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
 
-        MultiComparator searchCmp = invIndex.getBTree().getMultiComparator();
+        MultiComparator searchCmp = MultiComparator.create(invIndex.getBTree().getComparatorFactories());
         btreePred.setLowKeyComparator(searchCmp);
         btreePred.setHighKeyComparator(searchCmp);
         btreePred.setLowKey(searchKey, true);
@@ -246,8 +248,6 @@
 
         currentNumResults = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
@@ -292,8 +292,6 @@
         boolean advancePrevResult = false;
         int resultTidx = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
@@ -386,8 +384,6 @@
         boolean advancePrevResult = false;
         int resultTidx = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly.java b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly.java
index 0f5439b..87c718b 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly.java
@@ -27,9 +27,12 @@
 
 public class TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly extends TOccurrenceSearcher {
 
+	protected final MultiComparator invListCmp;
+	
     public TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, InvertedIndex invIndex,
             IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer) {
         super(ctx, invIndex, queryTokenizer);
+        this.invListCmp = MultiComparator.create(invIndex.getInvListElementCmpFactories());
     }
 
     protected int mergeSuffixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens, int maxPrevBufIdx) throws IOException {
@@ -58,8 +61,6 @@
 
         int resultTidx = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly.java b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly.java
index b997dc9..04f2d9f 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly.java
@@ -28,9 +28,12 @@
 
 public class TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly extends TOccurrenceSearcher {
 
+	protected final MultiComparator invListCmp;
+	
     public TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, InvertedIndex invIndex,
             IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer) {
         super(ctx, invIndex, queryTokenizer);
+        this.invListCmp = MultiComparator.create(invIndex.getInvListElementCmpFactories());
     }
 
     protected int mergeSuffixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens, int maxPrevBufIdx) throws IOException {
@@ -61,8 +64,6 @@
         boolean advancePrevResult = false;
         int resultTidx = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/BTreeFactory.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/BTreeFactory.java
index 32c01ab..51c8ce3 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/BTreeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/BTreeFactory.java
@@ -15,33 +15,33 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.impls;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public class BTreeFactory {
 
 	private IBufferCache bufferCache;
 	private int fieldCount;
-	private MultiComparator cmp;
+	private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories;
 	private ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
 	private ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
 	private LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory;
 	
-	public BTreeFactory(IBufferCache bufferCache, LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory, MultiComparator cmp, 
+	public BTreeFactory(IBufferCache bufferCache, LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, 
 			int fieldCount, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory) {
 		this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
 		this.fieldCount = fieldCount;
-		this.cmp = cmp;
+		this.cmpFactories = cmpFactories;
 		this.interiorFrameFactory = interiorFrameFactory;
 		this.leafFrameFactory = leafFrameFactory;
 		this.freePageManagerFactory = freePageManagerFactory;
 	}
 	
     public BTree createBTreeInstance(int fileId) {
-        return new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManagerFactory.createFreePageManager(fileId),
+        return new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManagerFactory.createFreePageManager(fileId),
                 interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
     }
     
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 6358e87..cfa3ba3 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
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 import java.util.ListIterator;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
@@ -43,7 +44,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexType;
 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.ILSMFileNameManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryFreePageManager;
@@ -76,13 +76,13 @@
     // Common for in-memory and on-disk components.
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory insertLeafFrameFactory;
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory deleteLeafFrameFactory;
-    private final MultiComparator cmp;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories;
     
     public LSMBTree(IBufferCache memBufferCache, InMemoryFreePageManager memFreePageManager,
             ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory insertLeafFrameFactory,
             ITreeIndexFrameFactory deleteLeafFrameFactory, ILSMFileNameManager fileNameManager, BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory,
-            BTreeFactory bulkLoadBTreeFactory, IFileMapProvider diskFileMapProvider, int fieldCount, MultiComparator cmp) {
-        memBTree = new BTree(memBufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, memFreePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
+            BTreeFactory bulkLoadBTreeFactory, IFileMapProvider diskFileMapProvider, int fieldCount, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) {
+        memBTree = new BTree(memBufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, memFreePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
                 insertLeafFrameFactory);
         this.memFreePageManager = memFreePageManager;
         this.insertLeafFrameFactory = insertLeafFrameFactory;
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@
         this.diskFileMapProvider = diskFileMapProvider;
         this.diskBTreeFactory = diskBTreeFactory;
         this.bulkLoadBTreeFactory = bulkLoadBTreeFactory;
-        this.cmp = cmp;
+        this.cmpFactories = cmpFactories;
         this.diskBTrees = new LinkedList<Object>();
         this.fileNameManager = fileNameManager;
         lsmHarness = new LSMHarness(this);
@@ -175,9 +175,9 @@
         // Therefore, to set the delete bit in the tuple that already exist in
         // the BTree, we must retrieve the original tuple first. This is to
         // ensure that we have the proper value field.
-        if (cmp.getKeyFieldCount() != memBTree.getFieldCount()) {
+        if (cmpFactories.length != memBTree.getFieldCount()) {
             ctx.reset(IndexOp.SEARCH);
-            RangePredicate rangePredicate = new RangePredicate(tuple, tuple, true, true, cmp, cmp);
+            RangePredicate rangePredicate = new RangePredicate(tuple, tuple, true, true, ctx.cmp, ctx.cmp);
             ITreeIndexCursor cursor = ctx.memBTreeAccessor.createSearchCursor();
             ctx.memBTreeAccessor.search(cursor, rangePredicate);
             ITupleReference tupleCopy = null;
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@
         // If all fields are keys, and the key we are trying to insert/update
         // already exists, then we are already done.
         // Otherwise, we must update the non-key fields.        
-        if (cmp.getKeyFieldCount() != memBTree.getFieldCount()) {
+        if (cmpFactories.length != memBTree.getFieldCount()) {
             memBTreeUpdate(tuple, ctx);
         } else {
             // Since the existing tuple could be an antimatter tuple, we must delete it and re-insert.
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@
         int numDiskBTrees = diskComponents.size();
         int numBTrees = (includeMemComponent) ? numDiskBTrees + 1 : numDiskBTrees;                
         LSMBTreeCursorInitialState initialState = new LSMBTreeCursorInitialState(numBTrees,
-                insertLeafFrameFactory, cmp, includeMemComponent, lsmHarness);
+                insertLeafFrameFactory, ctx.cmp, includeMemComponent, lsmHarness);
         lsmTreeCursor.open(initialState, pred);
         
         int cursorIx;
@@ -484,8 +484,8 @@
         return memBTree.getFileId();
     }
     
-    public MultiComparator getMultiComparator() {
-        return cmp;
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
+        return cmpFactories;
     }
     
     public LSMBTreeOpContext createOpContext() {
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTreeOpContext.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTreeOpContext.java
index 8bb3b9a..4f096ef 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTreeOpContext.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/impls/LSMBTreeOpContext.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexOpContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOp;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
 public final class LSMBTreeOpContext implements IIndexOpContext {
     
@@ -32,19 +33,21 @@
 	public BTree.BTreeAccessor memBTreeAccessor;
 	public BTreeOpContext memBTreeOpCtx;
 	public IndexOp op;
+	public final MultiComparator cmp;
 	
     public LSMBTreeOpContext(BTree memBTree, ITreeIndexFrameFactory insertLeafFrameFactory,
             ITreeIndexFrameFactory deleteLeafFrameFactory) {
-		this.memBTree = memBTree;
+		this.cmp = MultiComparator.create(memBTree.getComparatorFactories());
+        this.memBTree = memBTree;
 		this.insertLeafFrameFactory = insertLeafFrameFactory;
 		this.deleteLeafFrameFactory = deleteLeafFrameFactory;
 		this.insertLeafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) insertLeafFrameFactory.createFrame();
 		this.deleteLeafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) deleteLeafFrameFactory.createFrame();
 		if (insertLeafFrame != null) {
-			insertLeafFrame.setMultiComparator(memBTree.getMultiComparator());
+			insertLeafFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
         }
         if (deleteLeafFrame != null) {
-        	deleteLeafFrame.setMultiComparator(memBTree.getMultiComparator());
+        	deleteLeafFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
         }
 	}
 
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeUtils.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeUtils.java
index 296c839..014cc4f 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeUtils.java
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.util;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.impls.BTreeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.impls.LSMBTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.impls.LSMBTreeFileNameManager;
@@ -38,13 +37,12 @@
 public class LSMBTreeUtils {
     public static LSMBTree createLSMTree(InMemoryBufferCache memBufferCache, InMemoryFreePageManager memFreePageManager,
             String onDiskDir, IBufferCache diskBufferCache, IFileMapProvider diskFileMapProvider,
-            ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparator[] cmps) {
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+            ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) {
         LSMBTreeTupleWriterFactory insertTupleWriterFactory = new LSMBTreeTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits,
-                cmps.length, false);
+                cmpFactories.length, false);
         LSMBTreeTupleWriterFactory deleteTupleWriterFactory = new LSMBTreeTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits,
-                cmps.length, true);
-        LSMBTreeCopyTupleWriterFactory copyTupleWriterFactory = new LSMBTreeCopyTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, cmps.length);
+                cmpFactories.length, true);
+        LSMBTreeCopyTupleWriterFactory copyTupleWriterFactory = new LSMBTreeCopyTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, cmpFactories.length);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory insertLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(insertTupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory copyTupleLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(copyTupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory deleteLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(deleteTupleWriterFactory);
@@ -52,14 +50,14 @@
         ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
         LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory = new LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory(diskBufferCache,
                 metaFrameFactory);
-        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, cmp,
+        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, cmpFactories,
                 typeTraits.length, interiorFrameFactory, copyTupleLeafFrameFactory);
-        BTreeFactory bulkLoadBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, cmp,
+        BTreeFactory bulkLoadBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, cmpFactories,
                 typeTraits.length, interiorFrameFactory, insertLeafFrameFactory);
         ILSMFileNameManager fileNameManager = new LSMBTreeFileNameManager(onDiskDir);
         LSMBTree lsmTree = new LSMBTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, insertLeafFrameFactory,
                 deleteLeafFrameFactory, fileNameManager, diskBTreeFactory, bulkLoadBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider,
-                typeTraits.length, cmp);
+                typeTraits.length, cmpFactories);
         return lsmTree;
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/BTreeFactory.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/BTreeFactory.java
index 4143ff1..fcc43e7 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/BTreeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/BTreeFactory.java
@@ -15,23 +15,23 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public class BTreeFactory extends TreeFactory {
 
-    public BTreeFactory(IBufferCache bufferCache, LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory, MultiComparator cmp,
+    public BTreeFactory(IBufferCache bufferCache, LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories,
             int fieldCount, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory) {
-        super(bufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, cmp, fieldCount, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        super(bufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, cmpFactories, fieldCount, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
     }
 
     @Override
     public ITreeIndex createIndexInstance(int fileId) {
-        return new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManagerFactory.createFreePageManager(fileId),
+        return new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManagerFactory.createFreePageManager(fileId),
                 interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TreeFactory.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TreeFactory.java
index f24a1c3..4be0afb 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TreeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/common/impls/TreeFactory.java
@@ -15,26 +15,26 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public abstract class TreeFactory {
 
     protected IBufferCache bufferCache;
     protected int fieldCount;
-    protected MultiComparator cmp;
+    protected IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories;
     protected ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
     protected ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
     protected LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory;
 
-    public TreeFactory(IBufferCache bufferCache, LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory, MultiComparator cmp,
+    public TreeFactory(IBufferCache bufferCache, LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories,
             int fieldCount, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory) {
         this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
         this.fieldCount = fieldCount;
-        this.cmp = cmp;
+        this.cmpFactories = cmpFactories;
         this.interiorFrameFactory = interiorFrameFactory;
         this.leafFrameFactory = leafFrameFactory;
         this.freePageManagerFactory = freePageManagerFactory;
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 57cb36c..68a8da4 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
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.ListIterator;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
@@ -39,7 +40,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexType;
 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.ILSMFileNameManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryFreePageManager;
@@ -93,7 +93,8 @@
     // List of LSMRTreeComponent instances. Using Object for better sharing via ILSMTree + LSMHarness.
     private final LinkedList<Object> diskComponents = new LinkedList<Object>();
 
-    private MultiComparator btreeCmp;
+    private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories;
+    private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories;
     
     // Common for in-memory and on-disk components.
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory rtreeInteriorFrameFactory;
@@ -105,10 +106,10 @@
             ITreeIndexFrameFactory rtreeInteriorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory rtreeLeafFrameFactory,
             ITreeIndexFrameFactory btreeInteriorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory btreeLeafFrameFactory,
             ILSMFileNameManager fileNameManager, RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory, BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory,
-            IFileMapProvider diskFileMapProvider, int fieldCount, MultiComparator rtreeCmp, MultiComparator btreeCmp) {
-        RTree memRTree = new RTree(memBufferCache, fieldCount, rtreeCmp, memFreePageManager, rtreeInteriorFrameFactory,
+            IFileMapProvider diskFileMapProvider, int fieldCount, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories) {
+        RTree memRTree = new RTree(memBufferCache, fieldCount, rtreeCmpFactories, memFreePageManager, rtreeInteriorFrameFactory,
                 rtreeLeafFrameFactory);
-        BTree memBTree = new BTree(memBufferCache, fieldCount, btreeCmp, memFreePageManager, btreeInteriorFrameFactory,
+        BTree memBTree = new BTree(memBufferCache, fieldCount, btreeCmpFactories, memFreePageManager, btreeInteriorFrameFactory,
                 btreeLeafFrameFactory);
         memComponent = new LSMRTreeComponent(memRTree, memBTree);
         this.memFreePageManager = memFreePageManager;
@@ -121,7 +122,8 @@
         this.btreeInteriorFrameFactory = btreeInteriorFrameFactory;
         this.btreeLeafFrameFactory = btreeLeafFrameFactory;
         this.diskRTreeFactory = diskRTreeFactory;
-        this.btreeCmp = btreeCmp;
+        this.btreeCmpFactories = btreeCmpFactories;
+        this.rtreeCmpFactories = rtreeCmpFactories;
         this.lsmHarness = new LSMHarness(this);
     }
 
@@ -318,7 +320,7 @@
 
         LSMRTreeSearchCursor lsmRTreeCursor = (LSMRTreeSearchCursor) cursor;
         LSMRTreeCursorInitialState initialState = new LSMRTreeCursorInitialState(numDiskTrees + 1,
-                rtreeLeafFrameFactory, rtreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory, btreeCmp, bTreeAccessors, 
+                rtreeLeafFrameFactory, rtreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory, ctx.getBTreeMultiComparator(), bTreeAccessors, 
                 includeMemComponent, lsmHarness);
         lsmRTreeCursor.open(initialState, pred);
 
@@ -472,7 +474,7 @@
                 (IRTreeInteriorFrame) rtreeInteriorFrameFactory.createFrame(), memFreePageManager
                         .getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame(), 8, (BTree.BTreeAccessor) memComponent.getBTree().createAccessor(),
                 btreeLeafFrameFactory, btreeInteriorFrameFactory, memFreePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory()
-                        .createFrame(), btreeCmp);
+                        .createFrame(), rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories);
     }
     
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeOpContext.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeOpContext.java
index 5be0e63..49c6a59 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeOpContext.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/LSMRTreeOpContext.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.rtree.impls;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTreeOpContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexOpContext;
@@ -39,13 +40,13 @@
             IRTreeInteriorFrame rtreeInteriorFrame, ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame rtreeMetaFrame, int rTreeHeightHint,
             BTree.BTreeAccessor memBtreeAccessor, ITreeIndexFrameFactory btreeLeafFrameFactory,
             ITreeIndexFrameFactory btreeInteriorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame btreeMetaFrame,
-            MultiComparator btreeCmp) {
-
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories) {
         this.memRTreeAccessor = memRtreeAccessor;
         this.memBTreeAccessor = memBtreeAccessor;
-        this.rtreeOpContext = new RTreeOpContext(rtreeLeafFrame, rtreeInteriorFrame, rtreeMetaFrame, rTreeHeightHint);
+        // TODO: Alex. is there a reason we need to create new OpContexts?
+        this.rtreeOpContext = new RTreeOpContext(rtreeLeafFrame, rtreeInteriorFrame, rtreeMetaFrame, rtreeCmpFactories, rTreeHeightHint);
         this.btreeOpContext = new BTreeOpContext(btreeLeafFrameFactory, btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeMetaFrame,
-                btreeCmp);
+        		btreeCmpFactories);
     }
 
     public void reset(IndexOp newOp) {
@@ -65,4 +66,8 @@
     public IndexOp getIndexOp() {
     	return op;
     }
+    
+    public MultiComparator getBTreeMultiComparator() {
+    	return btreeOpContext.cmp;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/RTreeFactory.java b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/RTreeFactory.java
index 3c1773c..eacf23f 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/RTreeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/impls/RTreeFactory.java
@@ -15,24 +15,24 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.rtree.impls;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.TreeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public class RTreeFactory extends TreeFactory {
 
-    public RTreeFactory(IBufferCache bufferCache, LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory, MultiComparator cmp,
+    public RTreeFactory(IBufferCache bufferCache, LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories,
             int fieldCount, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory) {
-        super(bufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, cmp, fieldCount, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        super(bufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, cmpFactories, fieldCount, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
     }
 
     @Override
     public ITreeIndex createIndexInstance(int fileId) {
-        return new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManagerFactory.createFreePageManager(fileId),
+        return new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManagerFactory.createFreePageManager(fileId),
                 interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelper.java b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelper.java
index 51abb79..75328aa 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelper.java
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
@@ -38,12 +36,11 @@
 
     @Override
     public ITreeIndex createIndexInstance() throws HyracksDataException {
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexComparatorFactories());
         IBufferCache bufferCache = treeOpDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx);
         ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaDataFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, indexFileId, 0,
                 metaDataFrameFactory);
-        return new RTree(bufferCache, treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexTypeTraits().length, cmp, freePageManager,
+        return new RTree(bufferCache, treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexTypeTraits().length, treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexComparatorFactories(), freePageManager,
                 treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexInteriorFactory(), treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexLeafFactory());
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
index 9f62b8f..c63fbb4 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -86,10 +86,10 @@
             writer.open();
             try {
                 rtree = (RTree) treeIndexHelper.getIndex();
-                int keySearchFields = rtree.getCmp().getComparators().length;
+                int keySearchFields = rtree.getComparatorFactories().length;
                 IBinaryComparator[] keySearchComparators = new IBinaryComparator[keySearchFields];
                 for (int i = 0; i < keySearchFields; i++) {
-                    keySearchComparators[i] = rtree.getCmp().getComparators()[i];
+                    keySearchComparators[i] = rtree.getComparatorFactories()[i].createBinaryComparator();
                 }
                 cmp = new MultiComparator(keySearchComparators);
                 searchPred = new SearchPredicate(searchKey, cmp);
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMFrame.java b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMFrame.java
index 546a4d4..ea2ecb1 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMFrame.java
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.TreeIndexNSMFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTreeSplitKey;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.Rectangle;
@@ -125,9 +124,9 @@
 	}
 
 	// for debugging
-	public ArrayList<Integer> getChildren(MultiComparator cmp) {
+	public ArrayList<Integer> getChildren(int numKeyFields) {
 		ArrayList<Integer> ret = new ArrayList<Integer>();
-		frameTuple.setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+		frameTuple.setFieldCount(numKeyFields);
 		int tupleCount = buf.getInt(tupleCountOff);
 		for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
 			int tupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotManager.getSlotOff(i));
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java
index 79fbc72..bfbb63b 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReadWriteLock;
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantReadWriteLock;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
@@ -61,11 +62,10 @@
     private final IBufferCache bufferCache;
     private int fileId;
 
-    private final SearchPredicate diskOrderScanPredicate;
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
     private final int fieldCount;
-    private final MultiComparator cmp;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories;
 
     public int rootSplits = 0;
     public int[] splitsByLevel = new int[500];
@@ -78,17 +78,16 @@
     public byte currentLevel = 0;
 
     // TODO: is MultiComparator needed at all?
-    public RTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int fieldCount, MultiComparator cmp, IFreePageManager freePageManager,
+    public RTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int fieldCount, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, IFreePageManager freePageManager,
             ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory) {
         this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
         this.fieldCount = fieldCount;
-        this.cmp = cmp;
+        this.cmpFactories = cmpFactories;
         this.freePageManager = freePageManager;
         this.interiorFrameFactory = interiorFrameFactory;
         this.leafFrameFactory = leafFrameFactory;
         globalNsn = new AtomicLong();
-        this.treeLatch = new ReentrantReadWriteLock(true);
-        this.diskOrderScanPredicate = new SearchPredicate(null, cmp);
+        this.treeLatch = new ReentrantReadWriteLock(true);        
     }
 
     public void incrementGlobalNsn() {
@@ -181,7 +180,7 @@
 
             System.out.format(keyString);
             if (!interiorFrame.isLeaf()) {
-                ArrayList<Integer> children = ((RTreeNSMFrame) (interiorFrame)).getChildren(cmp);
+                ArrayList<Integer> children = ((RTreeNSMFrame) (interiorFrame)).getChildren(cmpFactories.length);
                 for (int i = 0; i < children.size(); i++) {
                     printTree(children.get(i), node, i == children.size() - 1, leafFrame, interiorFrame, keySerdes);
                 }
@@ -247,7 +246,7 @@
     private RTreeOpContext createOpContext() {
         return new RTreeOpContext((IRTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame(),
                 (IRTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame(), freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory()
-                        .createFrame(), 8);
+                        .createFrame(), cmpFactories, 8);
     }
 
     private void insert(ITupleReference tuple, IIndexOpContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
@@ -255,13 +254,13 @@
         ctx.reset();
         ctx.setTuple(tuple);
         ctx.splitKey.reset();
-        ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
-        ctx.splitKey.getRightTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+        ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple().setFieldCount(cmpFactories.length);
+        ctx.splitKey.getRightTuple().setFieldCount(cmpFactories.length);
 
-        int maxFieldPos = cmp.getKeyFieldCount() / 2;
+        int maxFieldPos = cmpFactories.length / 2;
         for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
             int j = maxFieldPos + i;
-            int c = cmp.getComparators()[i].compare(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
+            int c = ctx.cmp.getComparators()[i].compare(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
                     tuple.getFieldLength(i), tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j), tuple.getFieldLength(j));
             if (c > 0) {
                 throw new IllegalArgumentException("The low key point has larger coordinates than the high key point.");
@@ -360,11 +359,11 @@
 
                 if (!isLeaf) {
                     // findBestChild must be called *before* getBestChildPageId
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.findBestChild(ctx.getTuple(), cmp);
+                    ctx.interiorFrame.findBestChild(ctx.getTuple(), ctx.cmp);
                     int childPageId = ctx.interiorFrame.getBestChildPageId();
 
                     // check if enlargement is needed
-                    boolean enlarementIsNeeded = ctx.interiorFrame.checkEnlargement(ctx.getTuple(), cmp);
+                    boolean enlarementIsNeeded = ctx.interiorFrame.checkEnlargement(ctx.getTuple(), ctx.cmp);
                     if (enlarementIsNeeded) {
                         if (!writeLatched) {
                             node.releaseReadLatch();
@@ -392,7 +391,7 @@
                         }
                         // We don't need to reset the frameTuple because it is
                         // already pointing to the best child
-                        ctx.interiorFrame.enlarge(ctx.getTuple(), cmp);
+                        ctx.interiorFrame.enlarge(ctx.getTuple(), ctx.cmp);
 
                         node.releaseWriteLatch();
                         writeLatched = false;
@@ -585,7 +584,7 @@
             if (ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn() != ctx.pathList.getLastPageLsn()) {
                 foundParent = false;
                 while (true) {
-                    if (ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), cmp) != -1) {
+                    if (ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), ctx.cmp) != -1) {
                         // found the parent
                         foundParent = true;
                         break;
@@ -611,7 +610,7 @@
                 }
             }
             if (foundParent) {
-                ctx.interiorFrame.adjustKey(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), -1, cmp);
+                ctx.interiorFrame.adjustKey(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), -1, ctx.cmp);
                 insertTuple(parentNode, parentId, ctx.splitKey.getRightTuple(), ctx, ctx.interiorFrame.isLeaf());
                 ctx.pathList.moveLast();
 
@@ -676,7 +675,7 @@
                 }
                 parentLsn = pageLsn;
 
-                if (ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), ctx.traverseList, pageIndex, cmp) != -1) {
+                if (ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), ctx.traverseList, pageIndex, ctx.cmp) != -1) {
                     fillPath(ctx, pageIndex);
                     return;
                 }
@@ -708,7 +707,7 @@
         ctx.reset();
         ctx.setTuple(tuple);
         ctx.splitKey.reset();
-        ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+        ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple().setFieldCount(cmpFactories.length);
 
         int tupleIndex = findTupleToDelete(ctx);
 
@@ -748,7 +747,7 @@
             if (ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn() != ctx.pathList.getLastPageLsn()) {
                 foundParent = false;
                 while (true) {
-                    tupleIndex = ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), cmp);
+                    tupleIndex = ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), ctx.cmp);
                     if (tupleIndex != -1) {
                         // found the parent
                         foundParent = true;
@@ -776,12 +775,12 @@
             }
             if (foundParent) {
                 if (tupleIndex == -1) {
-                    tupleIndex = ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), cmp);
+                    tupleIndex = ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), ctx.cmp);
                 }
-                boolean recomputeMBR = ctx.interiorFrame.recomputeMBR(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), tupleIndex, cmp);
+                boolean recomputeMBR = ctx.interiorFrame.recomputeMBR(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), tupleIndex, ctx.cmp);
 
                 if (recomputeMBR) {
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.adjustKey(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), tupleIndex, cmp);
+                    ctx.interiorFrame.adjustKey(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), tupleIndex, ctx.cmp);
                     ctx.pathList.moveLast();
 
                     incrementGlobalNsn();
@@ -860,7 +859,7 @@
 
                 if (!isLeaf) {
                     for (int i = 0; i < ctx.interiorFrame.getTupleCount(); i++) {
-                        int childPageId = ctx.interiorFrame.getChildPageIdIfIntersect(ctx.tuple, i, cmp);
+                        int childPageId = ctx.interiorFrame.getChildPageIdIfIntersect(ctx.tuple, i, ctx.cmp);
                         if (childPageId != -1) {
                             ctx.traverseList.add(childPageId, -1, pageIndex);
                             ctx.pathList.add(childPageId, pageLsn, ctx.traverseList.size() - 1);
@@ -868,7 +867,7 @@
                     }
                 } else {
                     ctx.leafFrame.setPage(node);
-                    int tupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findTupleIndex(ctx.tuple, cmp);
+                    int tupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findTupleIndex(ctx.tuple, ctx.cmp);
                     if (tupleIndex != -1) {
 
                         node.releaseReadLatch();
@@ -887,7 +886,7 @@
                         if (ctx.leafFrame.getPageLsn() != pageLsn) {
                             // The page was changed while we unlocked it
 
-                            tupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findTupleIndex(ctx.tuple, cmp);
+                            tupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findTupleIndex(ctx.tuple, ctx.cmp);
                             if (tupleIndex == -1) {
                                 ctx.traverseList.add(pageId, -1, parentIndex);
                                 ctx.pathList.add(pageId, parentLsn, ctx.traverseList.size() - 1);
@@ -939,7 +938,7 @@
     }
 
     private void deleteTuple(int pageId, int tupleIndex, RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
-        ctx.leafFrame.delete(tupleIndex, cmp);
+        ctx.leafFrame.delete(tupleIndex, ctx.cmp);
         incrementGlobalNsn();
         ctx.leafFrame.setPageLsn(getGlobalNsn());
 
@@ -971,8 +970,8 @@
         return leafFrameFactory;
     }
 
-    public MultiComparator getCmp() {
-        return cmp;
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
+        return cmpFactories;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -1024,6 +1023,9 @@
         TreeDiskOrderScanCursor cursor = (TreeDiskOrderScanCursor) icursor;
         ctx.reset();
 
+        MultiComparator cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
+        SearchPredicate searchPred = new SearchPredicate(null, cmp);
+        
         int currentPageId = rootPage + 1;
         int maxPageId = freePageManager.getMaxPage(ctx.metaFrame);
 
@@ -1035,7 +1037,7 @@
             cursor.setCurrentPageId(currentPageId);
             cursor.setMaxPageId(maxPageId);
             ctx.cursorInitialState.setPage(page);
-            cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, diskOrderScanPredicate);
+            cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, searchPred);
         } catch (Exception e) {
             page.releaseReadLatch();
             bufferCache.unpin(page);
diff --git a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeOpContext.java b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeOpContext.java
index 9c60492..7e85a73 100644
--- a/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeOpContext.java
+++ b/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeOpContext.java
@@ -15,15 +15,18 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexOpContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
 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.rtree.api.IRTreeInteriorFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeLeafFrame;
 
 public class RTreeOpContext implements IIndexOpContext {
+	public final MultiComparator cmp;
 	public final IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame;
 	public final IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame;
 	public IndexOp op;
@@ -35,11 +38,12 @@
 	public PathList pathList; // used to record the pageIds and pageLsns
 								// of the visited pages
 	public PathList traverseList; // used for traversing the tree
-	private static final int initTraverseListSize = 100;
-
+	private static final int initTraverseListSize = 100;	
+	
 	public RTreeOpContext(IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame,
 			IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame,
-			ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, int treeHeightHint) {
+			ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, int treeHeightHint) {
+		this.cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
 		this.interiorFrame = interiorFrame;
 		this.leafFrame = leafFrame;
 		this.metaFrame = metaFrame;
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeExamplesTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeExamplesTest.java
index 0a22ecc..c021974 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeExamplesTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeExamplesTest.java
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 import org.junit.After;
 import org.junit.Before;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@
         harness.tearDown();
     }
     
-    protected ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparator[] cmps) throws TreeIndexException {
-        return BTreeUtils.createBTree(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getBTreeFileId(), typeTraits, cmps,
+    protected ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws TreeIndexException {
+        return BTreeUtils.createBTree(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getBTreeFileId(), typeTraits, cmpFactories,
                 BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
     }
     
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeSearchCursorTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeSearchCursorTest.java
index 1b271fd..7afea00 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeSearchCursorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeSearchCursorTest.java
@@ -57,7 +57,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public class BTreeSearchCursorTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
@@ -92,8 +91,6 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
 
@@ -102,7 +99,7 @@
 
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
@@ -167,8 +164,6 @@
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
         cmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
 
@@ -177,7 +172,7 @@
 
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
@@ -239,8 +234,6 @@
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
         cmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
 
@@ -249,7 +242,7 @@
 
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
@@ -297,7 +290,7 @@
     }
 
     public RangePredicate createRangePredicate(int lk, int hk, boolean lowKeyInclusive,
-            boolean highKeyInclusive, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException {
+            boolean highKeyInclusive) throws HyracksDataException {
 
         // create tuplereferences for search keys
         ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(lk);
@@ -352,7 +345,7 @@
 
                 ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(leafFrame, false);
                 RangePredicate rangePred = createRangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive,
-                        highKeyInclusive, btree.getMultiComparator());
+                        highKeyInclusive);
                 ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
                 indexAccessor.search(rangeCursor, rangePred);
 
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeStatsTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeStatsTest.java
index e1b19ef..28ae335 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeStatsTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeStatsTest.java
@@ -36,9 +36,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexBufferCacheWarmup;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexStats;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexStatsGatherer;
@@ -77,8 +75,6 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
@@ -90,7 +86,7 @@
 
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(fileId);
         btree.open(fileId);
 
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateSearchTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateSearchTest.java
index a94777b..1ef90bc 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateSearchTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateSearchTest.java
@@ -30,9 +30,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
@@ -55,8 +53,6 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         ISerializerDeserializer[] recDescSers = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
 
@@ -68,7 +64,7 @@
         IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
 
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestContext.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestContext.java
index c454db3..8c281e6 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestContext.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestContext.java
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.SerdeUtils;
@@ -35,19 +35,19 @@
     @Override
     public int getKeyFieldCount() {
         BTree btree = (BTree) treeIndex;
-        return btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount();
+        return btree.getComparatorFactories().length;
     }
-
+    
     @Override
-    public IBinaryComparator[] getComparators() {
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
         BTree btree = (BTree) treeIndex;
-        return btree.getMultiComparator().getComparators();
+        return btree.getComparatorFactories();
     }
     
     public static BTreeTestContext create(IBufferCache bufferCache, int btreeFileId, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeyFields, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws Exception {        
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = SerdeUtils.serdesToTypeTraits(fieldSerdes);
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparators(fieldSerdes, numKeyFields);
-        BTree btree = BTreeUtils.createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmps, leafType);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparatorFactories(fieldSerdes, numKeyFields);
+        BTree btree = BTreeUtils.createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmpFactories, leafType);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
         BTreeTestContext testCtx = new BTreeTestContext(fieldSerdes, btree);
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/AbstractInvIndexSearchTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/AbstractInvIndexSearchTest.java
index 7b6bd9f..2d350c6 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/AbstractInvIndexSearchTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/AbstractInvIndexSearchTest.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexResultCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex;
@@ -86,8 +85,7 @@
 
     // declare btree keys
     protected int btreeKeyFieldCount = 1;
-    protected IBinaryComparator[] btreeBinCmps = new IBinaryComparator[btreeKeyFieldCount];
-    protected MultiComparator btreeCmp = new MultiComparator(btreeBinCmps);
+    protected IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
 
     // btree frame factories
     protected TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(btreeTypeTraits);
@@ -112,8 +110,7 @@
     protected ITypeTraits[] invListTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[invListFields];
 
     protected int invListKeys = 1;
-    protected IBinaryComparator[] invListBinCmps = new IBinaryComparator[invListKeys];
-    protected MultiComparator invListCmp = new MultiComparator(invListBinCmps);
+    protected IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[invListKeys];
 
     protected InvertedIndex invIndex;
 
@@ -169,11 +166,11 @@
         btreeFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(btreeFile);
         bufferCache.openFile(btreeFileId);
 
-        btreeBinCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
         freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        btree = new BTree(bufferCache, btreeTypeTraits.length, btreeCmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
+        btree = new BTree(bufferCache, btreeTypeTraits.length, btreeCmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
                 leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
@@ -185,9 +182,9 @@
         bufferCache.openFile(invListsFileId);
 
         invListTypeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        invListBinCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        invListCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        invIndex = new InvertedIndex(bufferCache, btree, invListTypeTraits, invListCmp);
+        invIndex = new InvertedIndex(bufferCache, btree, invListTypeTraits, invListCmpFactories);
         invIndex.open(invListsFileId);
 
         rnd.setSeed(50);
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/BulkLoadTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/BulkLoadTest.java
index 42b82dc..955da5a 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/BulkLoadTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/BulkLoadTest.java
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -109,10 +109,8 @@
 
         // declare btree keys
         int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-
-        MultiComparator btreeCmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(btreeTypeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
@@ -123,7 +121,7 @@
 
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, btreeTypeTraits.length, btreeCmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, btreeTypeTraits.length, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
                 leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
@@ -133,12 +131,10 @@
         invListTypeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         int invListKeys = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] invListBinCmps = new IBinaryComparator[invListKeys];
-        invListBinCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[invListKeys];
+        invListCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = new MultiComparator(invListBinCmps);
-
-        InvertedIndex invIndex = new InvertedIndex(bufferCache, btree, invListTypeTraits, invListCmp);
+        InvertedIndex invIndex = new InvertedIndex(bufferCache, btree, invListTypeTraits, invListCmpFactories);
         invIndex.open(invListsFileId);
 
         Random rnd = new Random();
@@ -216,6 +212,7 @@
 
         ITreeIndexCursor btreeCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor((IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrame, false);
         FrameTupleReference searchKey = new FrameTupleReference();
+        MultiComparator btreeCmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
         RangePredicate btreePred = new RangePredicate(searchKey, searchKey, true, true, btreeCmp, btreeCmp);
 
         IInvertedListCursor invListCursor = new FixedSizeElementInvertedListCursor(bufferCache, invListsFileId,
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchTest.java
index fc99244..d99329f 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchTest.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
@@ -51,9 +52,15 @@
 	protected List<String> firstNames = new ArrayList<String>();
 	protected List<String> lastNames = new ArrayList<String>();
 
+	protected IBinaryComparator[] btreeBinCmps;
+	
 	@Before
 	public void start() throws Exception {
 		super.start();
+		btreeBinCmps = new IBinaryComparator[btreeCmpFactories.length];
+		for (int i = 0; i < btreeCmpFactories.length; i++) {
+			btreeBinCmps[i] = btreeCmpFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
+		}
 		tokenFactory = new UTF8NGramTokenFactory();
 		tokenizer = new NGramUTF8StringBinaryTokenizer(3, false, true, false,
 				tokenFactory);
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/LSMBTreeExamplesTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/LSMBTreeExamplesTest.java
index 800eeab..cef3e72 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/LSMBTreeExamplesTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/LSMBTreeExamplesTest.java
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 import org.junit.After;
 import org.junit.Before;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.tests.OrderedIndexExamplesTest;
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@
 	
 	@Override
 	protected ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
-			IBinaryComparator[] cmps) throws TreeIndexException {
+			IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactory) throws TreeIndexException {
 		return LSMBTreeUtils.createLSMTree(harness.getMemBufferCache(),
 				harness.getMemFreePageManager(), harness.getOnDiskDir(),
 				harness.getDiskBufferCache(), harness.getDiskFileMapProvider(),
-				typeTraits, cmps);
+				typeTraits, cmpFactory);
 	}
 
 	@Override
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreeBulkLoadRunner.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreeBulkLoadRunner.java
index 1590b17..f568651 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreeBulkLoadRunner.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreeBulkLoadRunner.java
@@ -15,21 +15,21 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.perf;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.TupleBatch;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
 public class BTreeBulkLoadRunner extends BTreeRunner {
 
     protected final float fillFactor;
     
-    public BTreeBulkLoadRunner(int numBatches, int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, MultiComparator cmp, float fillFactor)
+    public BTreeBulkLoadRunner(int numBatches, int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, float fillFactor)
             throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
-        super(numBatches, pageSize, numPages, typeTraits, cmp);
+        super(numBatches, pageSize, numPages, typeTraits, cmpFactories);
         this.fillFactor = fillFactor;
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreePageSizePerf.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreePageSizePerf.java
index 31a4c92..079a4d5 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreePageSizePerf.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreePageSizePerf.java
@@ -20,13 +20,12 @@
 import java.util.logging.LogManager;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.SerdeUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
 public class BTreePageSizePerf {
     public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
@@ -45,28 +44,27 @@
         ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = SerdeUtils.serdesToTypeTraits(fieldSerdes, 30);
         
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparators(fieldSerdes, fieldSerdes.length);
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparatorFactories(fieldSerdes, fieldSerdes.length);
         
-        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 1024, 100000, fieldSerdes, cmp, typeTraits);
-        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 2048, 100000, fieldSerdes, cmp, typeTraits);
-        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 4096, 25000, fieldSerdes, cmp, typeTraits);
-        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 8192, 12500, fieldSerdes, cmp, typeTraits);
-        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 16384, 6250, fieldSerdes, cmp, typeTraits);
-        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 32768, 3125, fieldSerdes, cmp, typeTraits);
-        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 65536, 1564, fieldSerdes, cmp, typeTraits);
-        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 131072, 782, fieldSerdes, cmp, typeTraits);
-        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 262144, 391, fieldSerdes, cmp, typeTraits);
+        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 1024, 100000, fieldSerdes, cmpFactories, typeTraits);
+        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 2048, 100000, fieldSerdes, cmpFactories, typeTraits);
+        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 4096, 25000, fieldSerdes, cmpFactories, typeTraits);
+        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 8192, 12500, fieldSerdes, cmpFactories, typeTraits);
+        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 16384, 6250, fieldSerdes, cmpFactories, typeTraits);
+        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 32768, 3125, fieldSerdes, cmpFactories, typeTraits);
+        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 65536, 1564, fieldSerdes, cmpFactories, typeTraits);
+        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 131072, 782, fieldSerdes, cmpFactories, typeTraits);
+        runExperiment(numBatches, batchSize, 262144, 391, fieldSerdes, cmpFactories, typeTraits);
     }
     
-    private static void runExperiment(int numBatches, int batchSize, int pageSize, int numPages, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, MultiComparator cmp, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits) throws Exception {
+    private static void runExperiment(int numBatches, int batchSize, int pageSize, int numPages, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits) throws Exception {
         System.out.println("PAGE SIZE: " + pageSize);
         System.out.println("NUM PAGES: " + numPages);
         System.out.println("MEMORY: " + (pageSize * numPages));
         int repeats = 5;
         long[] times = new long[repeats];
         //BTreeRunner runner = new BTreeRunner(numTuples, pageSize, numPages, typeTraits, cmp);
-        InMemoryBTreeRunner runner = new InMemoryBTreeRunner(numBatches, pageSize, numPages, typeTraits, cmp);
+        InMemoryBTreeRunner runner = new InMemoryBTreeRunner(numBatches, pageSize, numPages, typeTraits, cmpFactories);
         runner.init();
         int numThreads = 1;
         for (int i = 0; i < repeats; i++) {
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreeRunner.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreeRunner.java
index f110941..abd1377 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreeRunner.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/BTreeRunner.java
@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@
 import java.io.File;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
@@ -33,12 +33,12 @@
     protected static final int MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
     protected static final int HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = 128;       
     
-    public BTreeRunner(int numTuples, int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
-        super(numTuples, pageSize, numPages, typeTraits, cmp);
+    public BTreeRunner(int numTuples, int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
+        super(numTuples, pageSize, numPages, typeTraits, cmpFactories);
     }
     
     @Override
-    protected void init(int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
+    protected void init(int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
     	IHyracksTaskContext ctx = TestUtils.create(HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE);
     	TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(pageSize, numPages, MAX_OPEN_FILES);
         bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
@@ -48,6 +48,6 @@
         btreeFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
         bufferCache.openFile(btreeFileId);
         btree = BTreeUtils
-                .createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmp.getComparators(), BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
+                .createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmpFactories, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/InMemoryBTreeRunner.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/InMemoryBTreeRunner.java
index 1afd3d8..6e601db 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/InMemoryBTreeRunner.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/InMemoryBTreeRunner.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
 import java.util.Date;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeException;
@@ -32,7 +33,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.TupleBatch;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryBufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryFreePageManager;
@@ -52,13 +52,13 @@
     protected final int numBatches;
     protected BTree btree;    
     
-    public InMemoryBTreeRunner(int numBatches, int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
+    public InMemoryBTreeRunner(int numBatches, int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
         this.numBatches = numBatches;
         fileName = tmpDir + sep + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
-        init(pageSize, numPages, typeTraits, cmp);
+        init(pageSize, numPages, typeTraits, cmpFactories);
     }
     
-    protected void init(int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
+    protected void init(int pageSize, int numPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
     	ICacheMemoryAllocator allocator = new HeapBufferAllocator();
         bufferCache = new InMemoryBufferCache(allocator, pageSize, numPages);
         // Chose an aribtrary file id.
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new InMemoryFreePageManager(bufferCache.getNumPages(), metaFrameFactory);
-        btree = new BTree(bufferCache, typeTraits.length, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        btree = new BTree(bufferCache, typeTraits.length, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/LSMTreeRunner.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/LSMTreeRunner.java
index 9532567..2cbee2f 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/LSMTreeRunner.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/LSMTreeRunner.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import java.util.Date;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeException;
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.TupleBatch;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.impls.LSMBTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.util.LSMBTreeUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryBufferCache;
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
     private final int onDiskPageSize;
     private final int onDiskNumPages;
     
-    public LSMTreeRunner(int numBatches, int inMemPageSize, int inMemNumPages, int onDiskPageSize, int onDiskNumPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
+    public LSMTreeRunner(int numBatches, int inMemPageSize, int inMemNumPages, int onDiskPageSize, int onDiskNumPages, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws HyracksDataException, BTreeException {
         this.numBatches = numBatches;
         
         this.onDiskPageSize = onDiskPageSize;
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@
         InMemoryBufferCache memBufferCache = new InMemoryBufferCache(new HeapBufferAllocator(), inMemPageSize, inMemNumPages);
         InMemoryFreePageManager memFreePageManager = new InMemoryFreePageManager(inMemNumPages, new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory());
         
-        lsmtree = LSMBTreeUtils.createLSMTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, onDiskDir, bufferCache, fmp, typeTraits, cmp.getComparators());
+        lsmtree = LSMBTreeUtils.createLSMTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, onDiskDir, bufferCache, fmp, typeTraits, cmpFactories);
     }
 	@Override
 	public void init() throws Exception {
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/PerfExperiment.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/PerfExperiment.java
index f7cf57b..a9548e4 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/PerfExperiment.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/perf/PerfExperiment.java
@@ -15,20 +15,17 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.perf;
 
-import java.io.FileOutputStream;
-import java.io.PrintStream;
 import java.util.Enumeration;
 import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.LogManager;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.SerdeUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
 public class PerfExperiment {
     public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
@@ -40,8 +37,6 @@
             logger.setLevel(Level.OFF);
         }
         
-        //int numTuples = 1000;
-        //int batchSize = 100;
         int numTuples = 100000; // 100K
         //int numTuples = 1000000; // 1M
         //int numTuples = 2000000; // 2M
@@ -59,115 +54,34 @@
         ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = SerdeUtils.serdesToTypeTraits(fieldSerdes, 30);
         
-        FileOutputStream out;
-        PrintStream p;
-        out = new FileOutputStream("/tmp/testOutput.txt");  
-        p = new PrintStream( out );  
-        
-        
-        // Add 1 byte for the null flags.
-        // TODO: hide this in some method.
-        int tupleSize = 4 + 30 + 1;
-        
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparators(fieldSerdes, fieldSerdes.length);
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
-        
-        
-        //Test 30M Btree
-        try{
-        	p.println ("Start for test 30M BTree"); 
-        }catch (Exception e){
-    		System.err.println ("Error writing to file"); 
-    	} 
-        
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparatorFactories(fieldSerdes, fieldSerdes.length);
         
         //int repeats = 1000;
         int repeats = 1;
         long[] times = new long[repeats];
 
-        int numThreads = 1;
+        int numThreads = 2;
         for (int i = 0; i < repeats; i++) {
             //ConcurrentSkipListRunner runner = new ConcurrentSkipListRunner(numBatches, batchSize, tupleSize, typeTraits, cmp);
-            
-            //InMemoryBTreeRunner runner = new InMemoryBTreeRunner(numBatches, 8192, 100000, typeTraits, cmp);
+            InMemoryBTreeRunner runner = new InMemoryBTreeRunner(numBatches, 8192, 100000, typeTraits, cmpFactories);
             //BTreeBulkLoadRunner runner = new BTreeBulkLoadRunner(numBatches, 8192, 100000, typeTraits, cmp, 1.0f);
-
         	//BTreeRunner runner = new BTreeRunner(numBatches, 8192, 100000, typeTraits, cmp);
         	//String btreeName = "071211";
         	//BTreeSearchRunner runner = new BTreeSearchRunner(btreeName, 10, numBatches, 8192, 25000, typeTraits, cmp);
-        	LSMTreeRunner runner = new LSMTreeRunner(numBatches, 8192, 100, 8192, 250, typeTraits, cmp);
+        	//LSMTreeRunner runner = new LSMTreeRunner(numBatches, 8192, 100, 8192, 250, typeTraits, cmp);
         	//LSMTreeSearchRunner runner = new LSMTreeSearchRunner(100000, numBatches, 8192, 24750, 8192, 250, typeTraits, cmp); 
             DataGenThread dataGen = new DataGenThread(numBatches, batchSize, 10, numThreads, fieldSerdes, 30, 50, false);
             dataGen.start();
             runner.reset();
             times[i] = runner.runExperiment(dataGen, numThreads);
             System.out.println("TIME " + i + ": " + times[i] + "ms");
-            try{
-            	p.println ("TIME " + i + ": " + times[i] + "ms"); 
-            }catch (Exception e){
-        		System.err.println ("Error writing to file"); 
-        	} 
             runner.deinit();
         }
-        
         long avgTime = 0;
         for (int i = 0; i < repeats; i++) {
             avgTime += times[i];
         }
-        
         avgTime /= repeats;
         System.out.println("AVG TIME: " + avgTime + "ms");
-        try{
-        	p.println ("AVG TIME: " + avgTime + "ms"); 
-        }catch (Exception e){
-    		System.err.println ("Error writing to file"); 
-    	} 
-        
-        
-        
-/*        
-        //Test 30M Btree
-        try{
-        	p.println ("Start for test 40M LSMTree"); 
-        }catch (Exception e){
-    		System.err.println ("Error writing to file"); 
-    	} 
-        
-        numTuples = 40000000; // 40M
-        //numTuples = 1000000; // 100K
-        numBatches = numTuples / batchSize;
-        runner = new BTreeRunner(numBatches, 8192, 100000, typeTraits, cmp);
-        
-        runner.init();
-        for (int i = 0; i < repeats; i++) {
-        //	LSMTreeRunner runner = new LSMTreeRunner(numBatches, 8192, 100000, typeTraits, cmp);
-            DataGenThread dataGen = new DataGenThread(numBatches, 	batchSize, 10, numThreads, fieldSerdes, 30, 50, false);
-            dataGen.start();
-            runner.reset();
-            times[i] = runner.runExperiment(dataGen, numThreads);
-            System.out.println("TIME " + i + ": " + times[i] + "ms");
-            try{
-            	p.println ("TIME " + i + ": " + times[i] + "ms"); 
-            }catch (Exception e){
-        		System.err.println ("Error writing to file"); 
-        	} 
-        //    runner.deinit();
-        }
-        runner.deinit();
-        
-        avgTime = 0;
-        for (int i = 0; i < repeats; i++) {
-            avgTime += times[i];
-        }
-        
-        avgTime /= repeats;
-        System.out.println("AVG TIME: " + avgTime + "ms");
-        try{
-        	p.println ("AVG TIME: " + avgTime + "ms"); 
-        }catch (Exception e){
-    		System.err.println ("Error writing to file"); 
-    	} 
-  */      
-        p.close();
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestContext.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestContext.java
index 22e8373..4119ead 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestContext.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/btree/util/LSMBTreeTestContext.java
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
 import java.util.TreeSet;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.SerdeUtils;
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.tests.OrderedIndexTestContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.impls.LSMBTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.btree.util.LSMBTreeUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryBufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryFreePageManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
@@ -41,13 +40,13 @@
     @Override
     public int getKeyFieldCount() {
         LSMBTree lsmTree = (LSMBTree) treeIndex;
-        return lsmTree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount();
+        return lsmTree.getComparatorFactories().length;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IBinaryComparator[] getComparators() {
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
         LSMBTree lsmTree = (LSMBTree) treeIndex;
-        return lsmTree.getMultiComparator().getComparators();
+        return lsmTree.getComparatorFactories();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -66,9 +65,9 @@
             IFileMapProvider diskFileMapProvider, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeyFields, int fileId)
             throws Exception {
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = SerdeUtils.serdesToTypeTraits(fieldSerdes);
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparators(fieldSerdes, numKeyFields);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparatorFactories(fieldSerdes, numKeyFields);
         LSMBTree lsmTree = LSMBTreeUtils.createLSMTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, onDiskDir, diskBufferCache,
-                diskFileMapProvider, typeTraits, cmps);
+                diskFileMapProvider, typeTraits, cmpFactories);
         lsmTree.create(fileId);
         lsmTree.open(fileId);
         LSMBTreeTestContext testCtx = new LSMBTreeTestContext(fieldSerdes, lsmTree);
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/AbstractLSMRTreeTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/AbstractLSMRTreeTest.java
index 0c61186..f8bc3e4 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/AbstractLSMRTreeTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/AbstractLSMRTreeTest.java
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
 
-public class AbstractLSMRTreeTest {
+public abstract class AbstractLSMRTreeTest {
     protected static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(AbstractLSMRTreeTest.class.getName());
 
     private static final long RANDOM_SEED = 50;
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeSerachTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeSerachTest.java
index 43872ee..d7eec38 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeSerachTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeSerachTest.java
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -76,20 +76,20 @@
 
         // declare r-tree keys
         int rtreeKeyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] rtreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
-        rtreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        rtreeCmps[1] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[2] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[3] = rtreeCmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[1] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[2] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[3] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare b-tree keys
         int btreeKeyFieldCount = 5;
-        IBinaryComparator[] btreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[btreeKeyFieldCount];
-        btreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        btreeCmps[1] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[2] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[3] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[4] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[1] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[2] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[3] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[4] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 5;
@@ -100,12 +100,9 @@
         typeTraits[3] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         typeTraits[4] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
-        MultiComparator rtreeCmp = new MultiComparator(rtreeCmps);
-        MultiComparator btreeCmp = new MultiComparator(btreeCmps);
-
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                rtreeCmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+                rtreeCmpFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
 
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory rtreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, false);
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory btreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, true);
@@ -125,15 +122,15 @@
         LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory = new LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory(diskBufferCache,
                 metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 rtreeInteriorFrameFactory, rtreeLeafFrameFactory);
-        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory);
 
         ILSMFileNameManager fileNameManager = new LSMTreeFileNameManager(onDiskDir);
         LSMRTree lsmRTree = new LSMRTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, rtreeInteriorFrameFactory,
                 rtreeLeafFrameFactory, btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory, fileNameManager,
-                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmp, btreeCmp);
+                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories);
 
         lsmRTree.create(getFileId());
         lsmRTree.open(getFileId());
@@ -201,6 +198,7 @@
             }
         }
 
+        MultiComparator rtreeCmp = MultiComparator.create(rtreeCmpFactories);
         for (int i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
             double p1x = rnd.nextDouble();
             double p1y = rnd.nextDouble();
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeTest.java
index 5b6f416..5a57386 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-lsm-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/lsm/rtree/LSMRTreeTest.java
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMFileNameManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.freepage.InMemoryFreePageManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.impls.BTreeFactory;
@@ -67,22 +66,22 @@
 
         // declare r-tree keys
         int rtreeKeyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] rtreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
-        rtreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        rtreeCmps[1] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[2] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[3] = rtreeCmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[1] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[2] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[3] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare b-tree keys
         int btreeKeyFieldCount = 7;
-        IBinaryComparator[] btreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[btreeKeyFieldCount];
-        btreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        btreeCmps[1] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[2] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[3] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[4] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[5] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        btreeCmps[6] = btreeCmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[1] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[2] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[3] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[4] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[5] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[6] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 7;
@@ -95,12 +94,9 @@
         typeTraits[5] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         typeTraits[6] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
-        MultiComparator rtreeCmp = new MultiComparator(rtreeCmps);
-        MultiComparator btreeCmp = new MultiComparator(btreeCmps);
-
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                rtreeCmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        		rtreeCmpFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
 
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory rtreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, false);
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory btreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, true);
@@ -120,15 +116,15 @@
         LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory = new LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory(diskBufferCache,
                 metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 rtreeInteriorFrameFactory, rtreeLeafFrameFactory);
-        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory);
 
         ILSMFileNameManager fileNameManager = new LSMTreeFileNameManager(onDiskDir);
         LSMRTree lsmRTree = new LSMRTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, rtreeInteriorFrameFactory,
                 rtreeLeafFrameFactory, btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory, fileNameManager,
-                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmp, btreeCmp);
+                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories);
 
         lsmRTree.create(getFileId());
         lsmRTree.open(getFileId());
@@ -216,22 +212,22 @@
 
         // declare r-tree keys
         int rtreeKeyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] rtreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
-        rtreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        rtreeCmps[1] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[2] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[3] = rtreeCmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[1] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[2] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[3] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare b-tree keys
         int btreeKeyFieldCount = 7;
-        IBinaryComparator[] btreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[btreeKeyFieldCount];
-        btreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        btreeCmps[1] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[2] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[3] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[4] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[5] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        btreeCmps[6] = btreeCmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[1] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[2] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[3] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[4] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[5] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[6] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 7;
@@ -244,12 +240,9 @@
         typeTraits[5] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         typeTraits[6] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
-        MultiComparator rtreeCmp = new MultiComparator(rtreeCmps);
-        MultiComparator btreeCmp = new MultiComparator(btreeCmps);
-
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                rtreeCmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        		rtreeCmpFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
 
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory rtreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, false);
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory btreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, true);
@@ -269,15 +262,15 @@
         LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory = new LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory(diskBufferCache,
                 metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 rtreeInteriorFrameFactory, rtreeLeafFrameFactory);
-        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory);
 
         ILSMFileNameManager fileNameManager = new LSMTreeFileNameManager(onDiskDir);
         LSMRTree lsmRTree = new LSMRTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, rtreeInteriorFrameFactory,
                 rtreeLeafFrameFactory, btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory, fileNameManager,
-                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmp, btreeCmp);
+                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories);
 
         lsmRTree.create(getFileId());
         lsmRTree.open(getFileId());
@@ -410,26 +403,26 @@
 
         // declare r-tree keys
         int rtreeKeyFieldCount = 6;
-        IBinaryComparator[] rtreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
-        rtreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        rtreeCmps[1] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[2] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[3] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[4] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[5] = rtreeCmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[1] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[2] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[3] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[4] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[5] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare b-tree keys
         int btreeKeyFieldCount = 9;
-        IBinaryComparator[] btreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[btreeKeyFieldCount];
-        btreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        btreeCmps[1] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[2] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[3] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[4] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[5] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[6] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[7] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        btreeCmps[8] = btreeCmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[1] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[2] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[3] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[4] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[5] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[6] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[7] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[8] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 9;
@@ -444,12 +437,9 @@
         typeTraits[7] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         typeTraits[8] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
-        MultiComparator rtreeCmp = new MultiComparator(rtreeCmps);
-        MultiComparator btreeCmp = new MultiComparator(btreeCmps);
-
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                rtreeCmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        		rtreeCmpFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
 
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory rtreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, false);
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory btreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, true);
@@ -469,15 +459,15 @@
         LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory = new LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory(diskBufferCache,
                 metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 rtreeInteriorFrameFactory, rtreeLeafFrameFactory);
-        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory);
 
         ILSMFileNameManager fileNameManager = new LSMTreeFileNameManager(onDiskDir);
         LSMRTree lsmRTree = new LSMRTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, rtreeInteriorFrameFactory,
                 rtreeLeafFrameFactory, btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory, fileNameManager,
-                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmp, btreeCmp);
+                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories);
 
         lsmRTree.create(getFileId());
         lsmRTree.open(getFileId());
@@ -570,22 +560,22 @@
 
         // declare r-tree keys
         int rtreeKeyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] rtreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
-        rtreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        rtreeCmps[1] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[2] = rtreeCmps[0];
-        rtreeCmps[3] = rtreeCmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[1] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[2] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[3] = rtreeCmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare b-tree keys
         int btreeKeyFieldCount = 7;
-        IBinaryComparator[] btreeCmps = new IBinaryComparator[btreeKeyFieldCount];
-        btreeCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        btreeCmps[1] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[2] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[3] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[4] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        btreeCmps[5] = btreeCmps[0];
-        btreeCmps[6] = btreeCmps[4];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[1] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[2] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[3] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[4] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[5] = btreeCmpFactories[0];
+        btreeCmpFactories[6] = btreeCmpFactories[4];
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 7;
@@ -598,12 +588,9 @@
         typeTraits[5] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         typeTraits[6] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
-        MultiComparator rtreeCmp = new MultiComparator(rtreeCmps);
-        MultiComparator btreeCmp = new MultiComparator(btreeCmps);
-
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                rtreeCmps.length, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        		rtreeCmpFactories.length, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory rtreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, false);
         LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory btreeTupleWriterFactory = new LSMTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits, true);
@@ -623,15 +610,15 @@
         LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory freePageManagerFactory = new LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory(diskBufferCache,
                 metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        RTreeFactory diskRTreeFactory = new RTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, rtreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 rtreeInteriorFrameFactory, rtreeLeafFrameFactory);
-        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmp, fieldCount,
+        BTreeFactory diskBTreeFactory = new BTreeFactory(diskBufferCache, freePageManagerFactory, btreeCmpFactories, fieldCount,
                 btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory);
 
         ILSMFileNameManager fileNameManager = new LSMTreeFileNameManager(onDiskDir);
         LSMRTree lsmRTree = new LSMRTree(memBufferCache, memFreePageManager, rtreeInteriorFrameFactory,
                 rtreeLeafFrameFactory, btreeInteriorFrameFactory, btreeLeafFrameFactory, fileNameManager,
-                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmp, btreeCmp);
+                diskRTreeFactory, diskBTreeFactory, diskFileMapProvider, fieldCount, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories);
 
         lsmRTree.create(getFileId());
         lsmRTree.open(getFileId());
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTest.java
index bb744c9..e42e92e 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTest.java
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.TreeDiskOrderScanCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexStats;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexStatsGatherer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeFrame;
@@ -88,11 +87,11 @@
 
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[2] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[3] = cmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 7;
@@ -107,9 +106,7 @@
 
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+                cmpFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
 
         RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
 
@@ -124,7 +121,7 @@
         IRTreeFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         rtree.create(fileId);
         rtree.open(fileId);
 
@@ -253,11 +250,11 @@
 
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[2] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[3] = cmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 7;
@@ -272,9 +269,7 @@
 
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+                cmpFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
 
         RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
 
@@ -289,7 +284,7 @@
         IRTreeFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         rtree.create(fileId);
         rtree.open(fileId);
 
@@ -443,13 +438,13 @@
 
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 6;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[4] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[5] = cmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[2] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[3] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[4] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[5] = cmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 9;
@@ -466,9 +461,7 @@
 
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+                cmpFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
 
         RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
 
@@ -483,7 +476,7 @@
         IRTreeFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         rtree.create(fileId);
         rtree.open(fileId);
 
@@ -618,11 +611,11 @@
 
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[2] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[3] = cmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 7;
@@ -637,9 +630,7 @@
 
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+                cmpFactories.length, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
         RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
 
@@ -654,7 +645,7 @@
         IRTreeFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         rtree.create(fileId);
         rtree.open(fileId);
 
diff --git a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/SearchCursorTest.java b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/SearchCursorTest.java
index 2eac485..3f36753 100644
--- a/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/SearchCursorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/SearchCursorTest.java
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
@@ -92,11 +91,11 @@
 
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[2] = cmpFactories[0];
+        cmpFactories[3] = cmpFactories[0];
 
         // declare tuple fields
         int fieldCount = 5;
@@ -109,9 +108,7 @@
 
         // create value providers
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+                cmpFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
 
         RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
 
@@ -125,7 +122,7 @@
         IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         rtree.create(fileId);
         rtree.open(fileId);
 
@@ -188,6 +185,7 @@
             }
         }
 
+        MultiComparator cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
         for (int i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
             double p1x = rnd.nextDouble();
             double p1y = rnd.nextDouble();