631362
DEUCON: Decentralized End-to-End Utilization Control for Distributed Real-Time Systems
Many real-time systems must control their CPU utilizations in order to meet end-to-end deadlines and prevent overload. Utilization control is particularly challenging in distributed real-time systems with highly unpredictable workloads and a large number of end-to-end tasks and processors. This paper presents the decentralized end-to-end utilization control (DEUCON) algorithm, which can dynamically enforce the desired utilizations on multiple processors in such systems. In contrast to centralized control schemes adopted in earlier works, DEUCON features a novel decentralized control structure that requires only localized coordination among neighbor processors. DEUCON is systematically designed based on advances in distributed model predictive control theory. Both control-theoretic analysis and simulations show that DEUCON can provide robust utilization guarantees and maintain global system stability despite severe variations in task execution times. Furthermore, DEUCON can effectively distribute the computation and communication cost to different processors and tolerate considerable communication delay between local controllers. Our results indicate that DEUCON can provide a scalable and robust utilization control for large-scale distributed real-time systems executing in unpredictable environments.
810413
Enhancing the robustness of distributed real-time middleware via end-to-end utilization control
A key challenge for distributed real-time and embedded (DRE) middleware is maintaining both system reliability and desired real-time performance in unpredictable environments where system workload and resources may fluctuate significantly. This paper presents FC-ORB, a realtime object request broker (ORB) middleware that employs end-to-end utilization control to handle fluctuations in application workload and system resources. The contributions of this paper are three-fold. First, we present a novel utilization control service that enforces desired CPU utilization bounds on multiple processors by adapting the rates of end-to-end tasks within user-specified ranges. Second, we describe a set of middleware-level mechanisms designed to support end-to-end tasks and distributed multi-processor utilization control in a real-time ORB. Finally, we present extensive experimental results on a Linux testbed. Our results demonstrate that our middleware can maintain desired utilizations in face of uncertainties and variations in task execution times, resource contentions from external workloads, and permanent processor failure. FC-ORB demonstrates that the integration of utilization control, end-to-end scheduling and fault-tolerance mechanisms in DRE middleware is a promising approach for enhancing the robustness of DRE applications in unpredictable environments
7656393
CAMRIT: control-based adaptive middleware for real-time image transmission
Real-time image transmission is crucial to an emerging class of distributed embedded systems operating in open network environments. Examples include avionics mission re-planning over Link-16, security systems based on wireless camera networks, and online collaboration using camera phones. Meeting image transmission deadlines is a key challenge in such systems due to unpredictable network conditions. In this paper, we present CAMRIT, a control-based adaptive middleware framework for real-time image transmission in distributed real-time embedded systems. CAMRIT features a distributed feedback control loop that meets image transmission deadlines by dynamically adjusting the quality of image tiles. We derive an analytic model that captures the dynamics of a distributed middleware architecture. A control theoretic methodology is applied to systematically design a control algorithm with analytic assurance of system stability and performance, despite uncertainties in network bandwidth. Experimental results demonstrate that CAMRIT can provide robust real-time guarantees for a representative application scenario.
5867346
Feedback utilization control in distributed real-time systems with end-to-end tasks
An increasing number of distributed real-time systems face the critical challenge of providing quality of service guarantees in open and unpredictable environments. In particular, such systems often need to enforce utilization bounds on multiple processors in order to avoid overload and meet end-to-end deadlines even when task execution times are unpredictable. While recent feedback control real-time scheduling algorithms have shown promise, they cannot handle the common end-to-end task model where each task is comprised of a chain of subtasks distributed on multiple processors. This paper presents the end-to-end utilization control (EUCON) algorithm that adaptively maintains desired CPU utilization through performance feedbacks loops. EUCON is based on a model predictive control approach that models utilization control on a distributed platform as a multivariable constrained optimization problem. A multi-input-multi-output model predictive controller is designed based on a difference equation model that describes the dynamic behavior of distributed real-time systems. Both control theoretic analysis and simulations demonstrate that EUCON can provide robust utilization guarantees when task execution times deviate from estimation or vary significantly at runtime.
1347401
Decentralized utilization control in distributed real-time systems
Many real-time systems must control their CPU utilizations in order to meet end-to-end deadlines and prevent overload. Utilization control is particularly challenging in distributed real-time systems with highly unpredictable workloads and a large number of end-to-end tasks and processors. This paper presents the decentralized end-to-end utilization control (DEUCON) algorithm that can dynamically enforce desired utilizations on multiple processors in such systems. In contrast to centralized control schemes adopted in earlier work, DEUCON features a novel decentralized control structure that only requires localized coordination among neighbor processors. DEUCON is systematically designed based on recent advances in distributed model predictive control theory. Both control-theoretic analysis and simulations show that DEUCON can provide robust utilization guarantees and maintain global system stability despite severe variations in task execution times. Furthermore, DEUCON can effectively distribute the computation and communication cost to different processors and tolerate considerable communication delay between local controllers. Our results indicate that DEUCON can provide scalable and robust utilization control for large-scale distributed real-time systems executing in unpredictable environments
15273314
Feedback control real-time scheduling in ORB middleware
Existing real-time ORB middleware standards such as RT-CORBA do not adequately address the challenges of 1) providing robust performance guarantees portably across different platforms, and 2) managing unpredictable workload. To overcome this limitation, we have developed software called FCS/nORB that integrates a Feedback Control real-lime Scheduling (FCS) service with the nORB small-footprint real-time ORB designed for networked embedded systems. FCS/nORB features feedback control loops that provide real-time performance guarantees by automatically adjusting the rate of remote method invocations transparently to an application. FCS/nORB thus enables real-time applications to be truly portable in terms of real-time performance as well as functionality, without the need for hand tuning. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of FCS/nORB. Our extensive experiments on a Linux testbed demonstrate that FCS can provide deadline miss ratio and utilization guarantees in face of changes in the platform and task execution times, while introducing a small amount of overhead.
6284709
Satisfiability of Quantitative Temporal Constraints with Multiple Granularities
Most work on temporal constraints has ignored the subtleties involved in dealing with multiple time granularities. This paper considers a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) where binary quantitative constraints in terms of different time granularities can be specified on a set of variables, and unary constraints are allowed to limit the domain of variables. Such a CSP cannot be trivially reduced to one of the known CSP problems. The main result of the paper is a complete algorithm for checking consistency and finding a solution. The complexity of the algorithm is studied in the paper under different assumptions about the granularities involved in the CSP, and a second algorithm is proposed to improve the efficiency of the backtracking process needed to obtain all the solutions of the CSP. 
 
The work of Wang and Jajodia was partially supported by the National Science Foundation under the grant IRI-9633541.
6847194
Analyzing the secure overlay services architecture under intelligent DDoS attacks
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are currently major threats to communication in the Internet. A secure overlay services (SOS) architecture has been proposed to provide reliable communication between clients and a target under DDoS attacks. The SOS architecture employs a set of overlay nodes arranged in three hierarchical layers that controls access to the target. Although the architecture is novel and works well under simple congestion based attacks, we observe that it is vulnerable under more intelligent attacks. We generalize the SOS architecture by introducing more flexibility in layering to the original architecture. We define two intelligent DDoS attack models and develop an analytical approach to study the impacts of the number of layers, number of neighbors per node and the node distribution per layer on the system performance under these two attack models. Our data clearly demonstrate that performance is indeed sensitive to the design features and the different design features interact with each other to impact overall system performance.
1945985
A Model of Visuospatial Working Memory in Prefrontal Cortex: Recurrent Network and Cellular Bistability
We report a computer simulation of the visuospatial delayed-response experiments of Funahashi et al. (1989), using a firing-rate model that combines intrinsic cellular bistability with the recurrent local network architecture of the neocortex. In our model, the visuospatial working memory is stored in the form of a continuum of network activity profiles that coexist with a spontaneous activity state. These neuronal firing patterns provide a population code for the cue position in a graded manner. We show that neuronal persistent activity and tuning curves of delay-period activity (memory fields) can be generated by an excitatory feedback circuit and recurrent synaptic inhibition. However, if the memory fields are constructed solely by network mechanisms, noise may induce a random drift over time in the encoded cue position, so that the working memory storage becomes unreliable. Furthermore, a “distraction” stimulus presented during the delay period produces a systematic shift in the encoded cue position. We found that the working memory performance can be rendered robust against noise and distraction stimuli if single neurons are endowed with cellular bistability (presumably due to intrinsic ion channel mechanisms) that is conditional and realized only with sustained synaptic inputs from the recurrent network. We discuss how cellular bistability at the single cell level may be detected by analysis of spike trains recorded during delay-period activity and how local modulation of intrinsic cell properties and/or synaptic transmission can alter the memory fields of individual neurons in the prefrontal cortex.
34312633
Research on Reliable Communication in Real-Time Collaborative Designing Systems
Real-time collaborative designing systems allow users to view and design the same document from geographically distributed sites connected by web. In these systems, each action should be transferred to other sites correctly, timely and orderly. While a lot of researches focus mainly on providing reliable network environment to support collaborative works, we propose a new kind of reliable communication architecture for collaborative group. This architecture is based on UDP protocol for end-to-end transmission, and adopts a new Site-based Reliable Communication Protocol (SRCP) that depends on collaborative site itself to choose reliable communication channel and provide reliable transmission. Each site checks the connection status and chooses reliable path to transfer actions dynamically. Lost actions can be detected and retransferred faster when comparing to other architectures. The protocol and algorithms are given in detail in this paper.
1545116
Finding Collisions in the Full SHA-1
In this paper, we present new collision search attacks on the hash function SHA-1. We show that collisions of SHA-1 can be found with complexity less than 269 hash operations. This is the first attack on the full 80-step SHA-1 with complexity less than the 280 theoretical bound.