Stephen Phillips

Platform-as-a-Service Architecture for Real-Time Quality of Service Management in Clouds

Cloud computing offers the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of software services through the commoditization of information technology assets and on-demand usage patterns. However, the complexity of determining resource provision policies for applications in such complex environments introduces significant inefficiencies and has driven the emergence of a new class of infrastructure called Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). In this paper, we present a novel PaaS architecture being developed in the EU IST IRMOS project targeting real-time Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees for online interactive multimedia applications. The architecture considers the full service lifecycle including service engineering, service level agreement design, provisioning and monitoring. QoS parameters at both application and infrastructure levels are given specific attention as the basis for provisioning policies in the context of temporal constraints. The generic applicability of the architecture is being verified and validated through implemented scenarios from three important application sectors (film post-production, virtual augmented reality for engineering design, collaborative e-Learning in virtual worlds).

Dynamic Service Provisioning Using GRIA SLAs

Service Level Agreements (SLA) include quality of service (QoS) constraints and bounds that have to be honoured by the service provider. To maximise the Service Provider revenue while satisfying the QoS requirements of the agreed SLAs it is important to be able to perform a dynamic distribution of the service provider resources between the services and SLAs. This distribution should be based on the current status and predicted evolution of the QoS characteristics. This paper describes the experiences managing SLA obligations from a service provider perspective in a scenario where dynamic deployment of services can be undertaken. The main issues faced to deal with the management of SLAs in this context are detailed. The adopted solution, based on GRIA (a Service Oriented Architecture framework) is discussed.

Digitally filtered molecular dynamics: The frequency specific control of molecular dynamics simulations

A new method for modifying the course of a molecular dynamics computer simulation is presented. Digitally filtered molecular dynamics (DFMD) applies the well-established theory of digital filters to molecular dynamics simulations, enabling atomic motion to be enhanced or suppressed in a selective manner solely on the basis of frequency. The basic theory of digital filters and its application to molecular dynamics simulations is presented, together with the application of DFMD to the simple systems of single molecules of water and butane. The extension of the basic theory to the condensed phase is then described followed by its application to liquid phase butane and the Syrian hamster prion protein. The high degree of selectivity and control offered by DFMD, and its ability to enhance the rate of conformational change in butane and in the prion protein, is demonstrated.

Parametrization of Reversible Digitally Filtered Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Reversible Digitally Filtered Molecular Dynamics (RDFMD) is a method of amplifying or suppressing motions in a molecular dynamics simulation, through the application of a digital filter to the simulation velocities. RDFMD and its derivatives have been previously used to promote conformational motions in liquid-phase butane, the Syrian hamster prion protein, alanine dipeptide, and the pentapeptide, YPGDV. The RDFMD method has associated with it a number of parameters that require specification to optimize the desired response. In this paper methods for the systematic analysis of these parameters are presented and applied to YPGDV with the specific emphasis of ensuring a gentle and progressive method that produces maximum conformation change from the energy put into the system. The portability of the new parameter set is then shown with an application to the M20 loop of E-coli dihydrofolate reductase. A conformational change is induced from a closed to an open structure similar to that seen in the DHFR-NADP(+) complex.

Predicting application performance for multi-vendor clouds using dwarf benchmarks

Future Internet applications are becoming increasingly dynamic and can be composed of a wide range of services controlled and hosted by different stakeholders. This paper addresses the challenge of resource provisioning for applications that have specific Quality of Service (QoS) requirements and where consumers of Cloud resources want to avoid lock-in to any specific Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider. Application modelling can be used to predict performance of applications given certain resources, workload and configuration. However, application modelling is a significant challenge for Cloud consumers due to the limited and varying information IaaS providers disclose about infrastructure resources. We demonstrate in this paper how Dwarf benchmarks can be used as a uniform and informative way of characterising compute resources, which is successful for application modelling, achieving high prediction accuracy on a range of applications.

GRAVITATE: geometric and semantic matching for cultural heritage artefacts

The GRAVITATE project is developing techniques that bring together geometric and semantic data analysis to provide a new and more effective method of re-associating, reassembling or reunifying cultural objects that have been broken or dispersed over time. The project is driven by the needs of archaeological institutes, and the techniques are exemplified by their application to a collection of several hundred 3D-scanned fragments of large-scale terracotta statues from Salamis, Cyprus. The integration of geometrical feature extraction and matching with semantic annotation and matching into a single decision support platform will lead to more accurate reconstructions of artefacts and greater insights into history. In this paper we describe the project and its objectives, then we describe the progress made to date towards achieving those objectives: describing the datasets, requirements and analysing the state of the art. We follow this with an overview of the architecture of the integrated decision support platform and the first realisation of the user dashboard. The paper concludes with a description of the continuing work being undertaken to deliver a workable system to cultural heritage curators and researchers.

Trust Modelling in 5G mobile networks

5G technologies will change the business landscape for mobile network operation. The use of virtualization through SDN, NFV and Cloud computing offer significant savings of CAPEX and OPEX, but they also allow new stakeholders to rent infrastructure capacity and operate mobile networks, including specialized networks supporting so-called vertical applications serving specific business sectors. In the resulting diverse stakeholder communities, the old trust assumptions between network operators will no longer apply. There is a pressing need for a far broader understanding of trust in such networks if they are to operate safely and securely for the engaged stakeholder communities. This paper describes the work carried out in the 5G-ENSURE project to address this need.