Atri Indiresan

A distributed real-time operating system

Two versions of the HARTS operating system, which is based on Software Components Groups pSOS uniprocessor kernel, are presented. In one version, pSOS services are enhanced to provide interprocessor communication and a distributed naming service. In the second version, real-time fault-tolerant communication, including reliable broadcasting, clock synchronization, and group communication are added to the HARTS operating system. Three tools to evaluate the performance and fault tolerance dependability of HARTS hardware and software-a synthetic-workload generator, a monitor, and a fault injector-are described. The generator produces a synthetic workload, the monitor collects the performance data, and the fault injector simulates faulty behavior for further study. Together these tools create a facility that lets the user perform a wide range of experiments. The tools are independent, so they are equally effective separately or together, depending on the requirements.<<ETX>>

Resource management for real-time communication: making theory meet practice

This paper focuses on bridging the gap between theory and practice in the management of host CPU and link resources for real-time communication. Using our implementation of real-time channels, a paradigm for real-time communication in packet-switched networks, we illustrate the tradeoff between resource capacity and channel admissibility, which determines the number and type of real-time channels that can be accepted for service and the performance delivered to best-effort traffic. We demonstrate that this tradeoff is affected significantly by the choice of implementation paradigms and the grain at which CPU and link resources are multiplexed amongst active channels. To account for this effect we extend the admission control procedure for real-time channels originally proposed using idealized resource models. Our results show that practical considerations significantly reduce channel admissibility compared to idealized resource models. Further, the optimum choice of multiplexing grain depends on several factors such as resource preemption overheads, the relationship between CPU and link bandwidth, and the interaction between link bandwidth allocation and CPU bandwidth allocation.

The END: a network adapter design tool

We present the design and implementation of the Emulated Network Device (END), a network adapter design tool that facilitates accurate evaluation of alternative adapter designs. Using device emulation, the END permits designers to couple a representative model of an adapter with a real host and its communication software. Different adapter designs can be evaluated and compared accurately in a realistic setting, i.e., while capturing host-adapter concurrency and interaction overheads, before building a prototype. We present the architectural framework adopted by the END and demonstrate its feasibility via a case study of a commercial network adapter. Several design improvements to alleviate performance bottlenecks are realized and evaluated using the END, highlighting its utility as a network adapter design tool.