CSR: Small: On Modeling Software Dynamics for Feedback Computing

CSR：小：关于反馈计算的软件动态建模

• 批准号: 1320209
• 负责人: Tarek Abdelzaher
• 金额: $ 45.62万
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-10-01 至 2019-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1320209&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CSR; Small; Modeling; Software; Dynamics

This project develops science and technology for ensuring performance stability of large-scale software systems, such as resource management mechanisms used in data centers. The term "stability" is used here in a control-theoretic sense that applies to dynamical systems and roughly means freedom from divergence a range of desired system states. Performance stability refers to stability of performance parameters, such as latency, response time, service throughput, utilization, cache hit ratio, or timeout rate. The project develops the foundations and tools necessary to ensure software stability, and to diagnose and undo root causes of unstable behavior when it occurs in deployed systems. A significant contribution lies in exploring rules and guidelines that, if obeyed, allow reasoning about software stability in a compositional manner, such that stability of composite systems can be inferred from stability of components. Compositional stability analysis of software performance is facilitated by advances in control theory such as Passivity Theory and the Theory of Positive and Dissipative Systems. These advances offer a wealth of results on stability and compositionality for a restricted category of non-linear systems that fits software models. Performance stability challenges have been largely overlooked in software design. They are not typically manifest in small systems, but grow with the size and complexity of systems. The trend towards more software consolidation and outsourcing of computing services entails more complexity, more layering, and more interactions among various resource management mechanisms, making it harder to anticipate side-effects, and more likely there will be stability problems. The project improves the current understanding of the design, execution, and management of large systems that exploit feedback mechanisms to achieve performance and robustness objectives. Educational activities include incorporation of project elements into several courses taught by the PI, and involvement of undergraduate students in the research. Outreach activities include an on-campus "Feedback Computing Day", a tutorial on feedback computing to be offered in conjunction with a major research conference, and efforts by the PI to recruit students from under-represented groups. Dissemination activities include documentation of results of the research in a book by the PI, and efforts to transition technology through collaborators in industry.

该项目开发确保大型软件系统性能稳定性的科学技术，例如数据中心使用的资源管理机制。此处使用的术语“稳定性”是在控制理论意义上使用的，适用于动力系统，并且大致意味着不偏离一系列期望的系统状态。性能稳定性是指性能参数的稳定性，例如延迟、响应时间、服务吞吐量、利用率、缓存命中率或超时率。该项目开发了必要的基础和工具，以确保软件稳定性，并诊断和消除已部署系统中出现的不稳定行为的根本原因。一个重要的贡献在于探索规则和指南，如果遵守这些规则和指南，则允许以组合方式推理软件稳定性，从而可以从组件的稳定性推断出复合系统的稳定性。无源理论和正耗散系统理论等控制理论的进步促进了软件性能的组合稳定性分析。这些进步为适合软件模型的受限非线性系统类别的稳定性和组合性提供了丰富的结果。软件设计中很大程度上忽视了性能稳定性挑战。它们通常不会在小型系统中显现出来，而是随着系统的规模和复杂性而增长。更多软件整合和计算服务外包的趋势导致各种资源管理机制之间更加复杂、更加分层和更多交互，使得更难以预测副作用，并且更有可能出现稳定性问题。该项目提高了当前对大型系统的设计、执行和管理的理解，这些系统利用反馈机制来实现性能和稳健性目标。教育活动包括将项目元素纳入 PI 教授的几门课程中，以及本科生参与研究。外展活动包括校园内的“反馈计算日”、与重大研究会议结合提供的反馈计算教程，以及 PI 努力从代表性不足的群体中招收学生。传播活动包括 PI 将研究结果记录在书中，以及通过行业合作者实现技术转型的努力。