diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd97118
--- /dev/null
+++ b/run.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -e
+set -x
+
+while true; do
+for w in 1 2 100; do
+  for s in 1 2 100; do
+    for z in 0 1 2; do
+      for q in 1 8 32; do
+        rm -rf /tmp/db
+        mkdir /tmp/db
+        bin/zlog_bench \
+          --backend lmdb \
+          --db-path /tmp/db \
+          --runtime 10 \
+          --verify \
+          --width $w \
+          --slots $s \
+          --size $z \
+          --qdepth $q
+      done
+    done
+  done
+done
+done
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index c1eb92e..5782a5f 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -53,7 +53,13 @@ endif(WITH_JNI)
 add_executable(zlog_bench bench.cc)
 target_link_libraries(zlog_bench
     libzlog
-    zlog_backend_ram
+    ${Boost_PROGRAM_OPTIONS_LIBRARY}
+    ${Boost_SYSTEM_LIBRARY}
+)
+
+add_executable(zlog zlog.cc)
+target_link_libraries(zlog
+    libzlog
     ${Boost_PROGRAM_OPTIONS_LIBRARY}
     ${Boost_SYSTEM_LIBRARY}
 )
diff --git a/src/bench.cc b/src/bench.cc
index 2cce542..948d447 100644
--- a/src/bench.cc
+++ b/src/bench.cc
@@ -1,46 +1,231 @@
+#include <atomic>
+#include <condition_variable>
 #include <memory>
+#include <mutex>
+#include <random>
+#include <thread>
+#include <signal.h>
+#include <time.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
+#include <boost/program_options.hpp>
 #include "zlog/backend/ram.h"
 #include "zlog/options.h"
 #include "zlog/log.h"
 
+namespace po = boost::program_options;
+
+class rand_data_gen {
+ public:
+  rand_data_gen(size_t buf_size, size_t samp_size) :
+    buf_size_(buf_size),
+    dist_(0, buf_size_ - samp_size - 1)
+  {}
+
+  void generate() {
+    std::uniform_int_distribution<uint64_t> d(
+        std::numeric_limits<uint64_t>::min(),
+        std::numeric_limits<uint64_t>::max());
+    buf_.reserve(buf_size_);
+    while (buf_.size() < buf_size_) {
+      uint64_t val = d(gen_);
+      buf_.append((const char *)&val, sizeof(val));
+    }
+    if (buf_.size() > buf_size_)
+      buf_.resize(buf_size_);
+  }
+
+  inline const char *sample() {
+    assert(!buf_.empty());
+    return buf_.c_str() + dist_(gen_);
+  }
+
+ private:
+  const size_t buf_size_;
+  std::string buf_;
+  std::default_random_engine gen_;
+  std::uniform_int_distribution<size_t> dist_;
+};
+
+static inline uint64_t __getns(clockid_t clock)
+{
+  struct timespec ts;
+  clock_gettime(clock, &ts);
+  return (((uint64_t)ts.tv_sec) * 1000000000ULL) + ts.tv_nsec;
+}
+
+static inline uint64_t getus()
+{
+  return __getns(CLOCK_MONOTONIC) / 1000;
+}
+
+static std::atomic<bool> shutdown;
+static std::atomic<uint64_t> op_count;
+
+static std::mutex lock;
+static std::condition_variable cond;
+
+static void sig_handler(int sig)
+{
+  shutdown = true;
+}
+
+static void stats_entry()
+{
+  while (true) {
+    auto start_ops_count = op_count.load();
+    auto start_us = getus();
+
+    std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lk(lock);
+    cond.wait_for(lk, std::chrono::seconds(1),
+        [&] { return shutdown.load(); });
+    if (shutdown) {
+      break;
+    }
+
+    auto end_us = getus();
+    auto end_ops_count = op_count.load();
+
+    auto elapsed_us = end_us - start_us;
+
+    auto iops = (double)((end_ops_count - start_ops_count) *
+        1000000ULL) / (double)elapsed_us;
+
+    std::cout << iops << std::endl;
+  }
+}
+
 int main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
-  auto backend = std::unique_ptr<zlog::storage::ram::RAMBackend>(
-      new zlog::storage::ram::RAMBackend());
+  std::string log_name;
+  uint32_t width;
+  uint32_t slots;
+  size_t entry_size;
+  int qdepth;
+  bool excl_open;
+  bool verify;
+  int runtime;
+  std::string backend;
+  std::string pool;
+  std::string db_path;
+  bool blackhole;
+
+  po::options_description opts("Benchmark options");
+  opts.add_options()
+    ("help", "show help message")
+    ("name", po::value<std::string>(&log_name)->default_value("bench"), "log name")
+    ("width", po::value<uint32_t>(&width)->default_value(10), "stripe width")
+    ("slots", po::value<uint32_t>(&slots)->default_value(10), "object slots")
+    ("size", po::value<size_t>(&entry_size)->default_value(1024), "entry size")
+    ("qdepth", po::value<int>(&qdepth)->default_value(1), "queue depth")
+    ("excl", po::bool_switch(&excl_open), "exclusive open")
+    ("verify", po::bool_switch(&verify), "verify writes")
+    ("runtime", po::value<int>(&runtime)->default_value(0), "runtime")
+
+    ("backend", po::value<std::string>(&backend)->required(), "backend")
+    ("pool", po::value<std::string>(&pool)->default_value("zlog"), "pool (ceph)")
+    ("db-path", po::value<std::string>(&db_path)->default_value("/tmp/zlog.bench.db"), "db path (lmdb)")
+    ("blackhole", po::bool_switch(&blackhole), "black hole (ram)")
+  ;
+
+  po::variables_map vm;
+  po::store(po::parse_command_line(argc, argv, opts), vm);
+
+  if (vm.count("help")) {
+    std::cout << opts << std::endl;
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  po::notify(vm);
+
+  runtime = std::max(runtime, 0);
 
   zlog::Options options;
-  options.backend = std::move(backend);
+  options.backend_name = backend;
+
+  if (backend == "ceph") {
+    options.backend_options["pool"] = pool;
+    // zero-length string here causes default path search
+    options.backend_options["conf_file"] = "";
+  }
+
+  if (backend == "lmdb") {
+    options.backend_options["path"] = db_path;
+  }
+
+  if (backend == "ram") {
+    if (blackhole) {
+      options.backend_options["blackhole"] = "true";
+    }
+  }
+
   options.create_if_missing = true;
-  options.error_if_exists = true;
-  options.init_stripe_on_create = true;
+  options.error_if_exists = excl_open;
+
+  options.stripe_width = width;
+  options.stripe_slots = slots;
+  options.max_inflight_ops = qdepth;
 
   zlog::Log *log;
-  int ret = zlog::Log::Open(options, "mylog", &log);
-  assert(ret == 0);
-
-#if 0
-  for (int i = 0; i < 100000; i++) {
-    uint64_t pos;
-    int ret = log->Append("data", &pos);
-    assert(ret == 0);
-    std::cout << pos << std::endl;
-  }
-#else
-  std::mutex lock;
-  for (int i = 0; i < 50000; i++) {
-    int ret = log->appendAsync("data", [&](int ret, uint64_t pos) {
-      std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lk(lock);
-      std::cout << pos << " " << ret << std::endl;
+  int ret = zlog::Log::Open(options, log_name, &log);
+  if (ret) {
+    std::cerr << "log::open failed: " << strerror(-ret) << std::endl;
+    return -1;
+  }
+
+  signal(SIGINT, sig_handler);
+  signal(SIGALRM, sig_handler);
+  alarm(runtime);
+
+  rand_data_gen dgen(1ULL << 22, entry_size);
+  dgen.generate();
+
+  // TODO: by always logging the same entry data we may trigger low-level
+  // compression to take affect, if such a thing exists. something to be aware
+  // of and watch out for.
+  const auto entry_data = std::string(dgen.sample(), entry_size);
+
+  std::thread stats_thread(stats_entry);
+
+  op_count = 0;
+  while (!shutdown) {
+    int ret = log->appendAsync(entry_data, [&](int ret, uint64_t pos) {
+      if (ret && ret != -ESHUTDOWN) {
+        std::cerr << "appendAsync cb failed: " << strerror(-ret) << std::endl;
+        assert(0);
+        return;
+      }
+      op_count++;
     });
-    assert(ret == 0);
+    if (ret) {
+      std::cerr << "appendAsync failed: " << strerror(-ret) << std::endl;
+      assert(0);
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+
+  shutdown = true;
+  cond.notify_one();
+  stats_thread.join();
+
+  if (verify) {
+    uint64_t tail;
+    auto ret = log->CheckTail(&tail);
+    if (ret) {
+      std::cerr << "checktail failed: " << strerror(-ret) << std::endl;
+    } else {
+      for (uint64_t pos = 0; pos < tail; pos++) {
+        std::string data;
+        ret = log->Read(pos, &data);
+        if (ret) {
+          std::cerr << "read failed at pos " << pos << ": " << strerror(-ret) << std::endl;
+        } else if (data != entry_data) {
+          std::cerr << "verify failed at pos " << pos << std::endl;
+          assert(0);
+        }
+      }
+    }
   }
-#endif
 
-  // will wait for async ops to run callbacks
-  std::cout << "done looping" << std::endl;
-  sleep(3);
-  std::cout << "done sleeping" << std::endl;
   delete log;
 
   return 0;
diff --git a/src/include/zlog/backend/ram.h b/src/include/zlog/backend/ram.h
index da1f3af..23c6acd 100644
--- a/src/include/zlog/backend/ram.h
+++ b/src/include/zlog/backend/ram.h
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ namespace ram {
 class RAMBackend : public Backend {
  public:
   RAMBackend() :
+    blackhole_(false),
     options_{{"scheme", "ram"}}
   {}
 
@@ -97,8 +98,9 @@ class RAMBackend : public Backend {
 
  private:
   mutable std::mutex lock_;
+  bool blackhole_;
   std::map<std::string, std::string> options_;
-  std::map<std::string,
+  std::unordered_map<std::string,
     boost::variant<LinkObject, ProjectionObject, LogObject>> objects_;
 };
 
diff --git a/src/include/zlog/options.h b/src/include/zlog/options.h
index 7bdfdc9..14c3d6c 100644
--- a/src/include/zlog/options.h
+++ b/src/include/zlog/options.h
@@ -46,9 +46,6 @@ struct Options {
   // advanced
   int max_refresh_views_read = 20;
 
-  int width = 10;
-  int entries_per_object = 200;
-
   Statistics* statistics = nullptr;
   std::vector<std::string> http;
   
diff --git a/src/libzlog/striper.cc b/src/libzlog/striper.cc
index b9295b3..c612c20 100644
--- a/src/libzlog/striper.cc
+++ b/src/libzlog/striper.cc
@@ -343,6 +343,10 @@ int Striper::propose_sequencer()
     auto& stripe = it->second;
     int ret = seal_stripe(stripe, next_epoch, &max_pos, &empty);
     if (ret < 0) {
+      if (ret == -ESPIPE) {
+        update_current_view(v.epoch());
+        return 0;
+      }
       return ret;
     }
 
@@ -363,6 +367,10 @@ int Striper::propose_sequencer()
     auto& stripe = it->second;
     int ret = seal_stripe(stripe, next_epoch, nullptr, nullptr);
     if (ret < 0) {
+      if (ret == -ESPIPE) {
+        update_current_view(v.epoch());
+        return 0;
+      }
       return ret;
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/storage/ram/ram.cc b/src/storage/ram/ram.cc
index dd79b9a..00a5220 100644
--- a/src/storage/ram/ram.cc
+++ b/src/storage/ram/ram.cc
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #include <vector>
 #include <atomic>
+#include <boost/algorithm/string.hpp>
 #include <boost/uuid/uuid.hpp>
 #include <boost/uuid/uuid_generators.hpp>
 #include <boost/uuid/uuid_io.hpp>
@@ -17,6 +18,11 @@ RAMBackend::~RAMBackend()
 int RAMBackend::Initialize(
     const std::map<std::string, std::string>& opts)
 {
+  auto it = opts.find("blackhole");
+  if (it != opts.end()) {
+    blackhole_ = boost::iequals(it->second, "yes") ||
+      boost::iequals(it->second, "true");
+  }
   return 0;
 }
 
@@ -306,7 +312,9 @@ int RAMBackend::Write(const std::string& oid, const std::string& data,
   auto it = lobj->entries.find(position);
   if (it == lobj->entries.end()) {
     LogEntry entry;
-    entry.data = data;
+    if (!blackhole_) {
+      entry.data = data;
+    }
     lobj->entries.emplace(position, entry);
     lobj->maxpos = std::max(lobj->maxpos, position);
     return 0;
diff --git a/src/storage/test_backend.cc b/src/storage/test_backend.cc
index 90d47c1..8ae12f7 100644
--- a/src/storage/test_backend.cc
+++ b/src/storage/test_backend.cc
@@ -744,6 +744,8 @@ TEST_F(BackendTest, ListHeads) {
   
   std::vector<std::string> output;
   ASSERT_EQ(backend->ListHeads(output), 0);
+  std::sort(output.begin(), output.end());
+
   ASSERT_EQ(output, expected);
 }
 
@@ -759,8 +761,11 @@ TEST_F(BackendTest, ListLinks) {
   ASSERT_EQ(backend->CreateLog("lastOne", "", nullptr, nullptr), 0);
 
   std::vector<std::string> expected = { "head.another_log", "head.lastOne", "head.log1" };
+  std::sort(expected.begin(), expected.end());
 
   std::vector<std::string> output;
   ASSERT_EQ(backend->ListLinks(output), 0);
+  std::sort(output.begin(), output.end());
+
   ASSERT_EQ(output, expected);
 }
diff --git a/src/zlog.cc b/src/zlog.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a6dff0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/zlog.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+#include <iostream>
+#include <memory>
+#include <string>
+#include <boost/program_options.hpp>
+#include "zlog/backend.h"
+#include "zlog/options.h"
+#include "libzlog/striper.h"
+#include "proto/zlog.pb.h"
+
+namespace po = boost::program_options;
+
+int main(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+  std::string log_name;
+  std::string backend_name;
+  std::string pool;
+  std::string db_path;
+
+  po::options_description opts("Benchmark options");
+  opts.add_options()
+    ("help", "show help message")
+    ("name", po::value<std::string>(&log_name)->default_value("bench"), "log name")
+    ("backend", po::value<std::string>(&backend_name)->required(), "backend")
+    ("pool", po::value<std::string>(&pool)->default_value("zlog"), "pool (ceph)")
+    ("db-path", po::value<std::string>(&db_path)->default_value("/tmp/zlog.bench.db"), "db path (lmdb)")
+  ;
+
+  po::variables_map vm;
+  po::store(po::parse_command_line(argc, argv, opts), vm);
+
+  if (vm.count("help")) {
+    std::cout << opts << std::endl;
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  po::notify(vm);
+
+  zlog::Options options;
+  options.backend_name = backend_name;
+
+  if (backend_name == "ceph") {
+    options.backend_options["pool"] = pool;
+    // zero-length string here causes default path search
+    options.backend_options["conf_file"] = "";
+  } else if (backend_name == "lmdb") {
+    options.backend_options["path"] = db_path;
+  }
+
+  std::shared_ptr<zlog::Backend> backend;
+  int ret = zlog::Backend::Load(options.backend_name,
+      options.backend_options, backend);
+  if (ret) {
+    std::cerr << "backend::load " << ret << std::endl;
+    return ret;
+  }
+
+  std::string hoid;
+  std::string prefix;
+  ret = backend->OpenLog(log_name, &hoid, &prefix);
+  if (ret) {
+    std::cerr << "backend::openlog " << ret << std::endl;
+    return ret;
+  }
+
+  uint64_t epoch = 1;
+  while (true) {
+    std::map<uint64_t, std::string> views;
+    ret = backend->ReadViews(hoid, epoch, 1, &views);
+    if (ret) {
+      std::cerr << "read views error " << ret << std::endl;
+      return ret;
+    }
+
+    if (views.empty()) {
+      break;
+    }
+
+    assert(views.size() == 1u);
+    auto it = views.find(epoch);
+    assert(it != views.end());
+
+    zlog_proto::View view_src;
+    if (!view_src.ParseFromString(it->second)) {
+      assert(0);
+      exit(1);
+    }
+
+    auto view = std::make_shared<zlog::View>(prefix, it->first, view_src);
+
+    std::cout << "view@" << view->epoch() << std::endl;
+    for (auto it : view->object_map.stripes()) {
+      std::cout << "   stripe@" << it.second.id() << " [" << it.first
+        << ", " << it.second.max_position() << "]" << std::endl;
+    }
+
+    epoch++;
+  }
+
+  return 0;
+}