An algebraic description of some state-dependent failure mechanisms

doi:10.1016/0020-0190(88)90062-2

Information Processing Letters

Volume 29, Issue 4, 12 November 1988, Pages 207-211

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Abstract

Many analogies in the models of failure behaviour of systems suggest to study an abstract basis which could be common to all. In this paper we introduce a possible presentation of the problem from an abstract point of view and discuss its usefulness.

References (4)

F.A. Schreiber
State dependency issues in evaluating distributed database availability
Computer Network
(1984)
S.E. Butner et al.
A statistical failure/load relationship: Results of a multicomputer study
IEEE Trans. Comput.
(1982)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (1)

Overload effects and their prevention
1991, Performance Evaluation
The so-called “thrashing effect”, well known from virtual storage, but also reported from data-base systems and packet switching networks, has turned out to be a common phenomenon of large systems with concurrent processing. It simply means that beyond a saturation point an increase of the load (e.g. number of jobs) leads to a (sometimes sudden) decrease in performance (e.g. throughput). With growing size and complexity of computer systems and the general trend towards distribution, overload phenomena of different origin can interfere and superimpose mutually, resulting in a composite overload effect that can hardly be broken down into its constituents. Because the complexity of such systems defies detailed modeling, it is more appropriate to look at those systems in a more macroscopic, behavioral way, considering only the two externally measurable variables “load” and “throughput”. The resulting abstraction from internal details can smooth the way to a more general treatment and application. The article deals with such overload phenomena and their prevention in a general way using a control-theoretic approach. Special emphasis is placed on dynamic behavior, where load characteristics are changing with time, making feedback mechanisms necessary. The problem is approached as a dynamic optimum search problem for which different algorithms are presented and compared by simulation.

^☆: Research partly supported by M.P.I. 40%.

^∗∗: Present affiliation: Dipartimento di Elettronico, Politecnica di Milano, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano, Italy.

^∗∗∗: Present affiliation: Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, 16 Mill Lane, Cambridge, United Kingdom CB2 1SB.

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Information Processing Letters

An algebraic description of some state-dependent failure mechanisms☆

Abstract

State dependency issues in evaluating distributed database availability

Computer Network

A statistical failure/load relationship: Results of a multicomputer study

IEEE Trans. Comput.

Overload effects and their prevention