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OFC: A distributed fossil-collection algorithm for Time-Warp

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Distributed Computing (DISC 1998)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1499))

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Abstract

In the Time-Warp synchronization model, the processes must occasionally interrupt execution in order to reclaim memory space used by state and event histories that are no longer needed (fossil-collection). Traditionally, fossil-collection techniques have required the processes to reach a consensus on the Global Virtual-Time (GVT) — the global progress time. Events with time-stamps less than GVT are guaranteed to have been processed correctly; their histories can be safely collected. This paper presents Optimistic Fossil-Collection (OFC), a new fossil-collection algorithm that is fully distributed. OFC uses a local decision function to estimate the fossilized portion of the histories (and optimistically collects them). Because a global property is estimated using local information only, an erroneous estimate is possible. Accordingly, OFC must also include a recovery mechanism to be feasible. An uncoordinated distributed checkpointing algorithm for Time-Warp that is domino-effect free and lightweight is used. We show that, in addition to eliminating the overhead for GVT estimation, OFC has several desireable memory-management properties.

This work was partially supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency and monitored by the Department of Justice under contract number J-FBI-93-116.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of ECECS, Computer Architecture Design Laboratory, PO Box 210030, 45221-0030, Cincinnati, OH

    Christopher H. Young, Nael B. Abu-Ghazaleh & Philip A. Wilsey

Authors
  1. Christopher H. Young
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  2. Nael B. Abu-Ghazaleh
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  3. Philip A. Wilsey
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Shay Kutten

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© 1998 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Young, C.H., Abu-Ghazaleh, N.B., Wilsey, P.A. (1998). OFC: A distributed fossil-collection algorithm for Time-Warp. In: Kutten, S. (eds) Distributed Computing. DISC 1998. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1499. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0056498

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0056498

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-65066-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-49693-9

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