18137632
Collecting Data About Logic Simulation
Design of high-performance hardware and software-based gate-switch-level logic simulators requires knowledge about the logic simulation process itself. Unfortunately, little data is publicly available concerning key aspects of this process. An example of this is the lack of published empirical measurements relating to the time distribution of events generated by such simulators. This paper presents a gate-switch-level logic simulator lsim which is oriented towards the collection of data about the simulation process. The basic components of lsim are reviewed, and its relevant data gathering facilities are discussed. An example is presented which illustrates the use of lsim in gathering data on event distributions and on communications requirements under alternative logic circuit partitionings.
14211318
An architecture for fast processing of large unstructured data sets
This paper presents a general system architecture tailored to perform searching, filtering, compression, encryption, and other operations on unstructured data streaming from a disk system. The system achieves high performance on such applications by providing for parallelism, hardware-application specialization and reconfiguration, and hardware placement near the disk systems. A limited prototype of a single compute node has been implemented and is described. The prototype is tailored to applications involving complex searching and its performance is compared to a pure software implementation having the same search capabilities. Performance is considered in terms of data set size, query string hit rate and query complexity. Performance results as a function of these parameters are presented and the results indicate that, for data set sizes above 1.4 MB, the prototype compute node is between one and two orders of magnitude faster than a pure software implementation. At high data set sizes, on an individual node, speedups of about 200 and a sustained throughput of 300 MB/sec have been achieved.
210844
Predictive scheduling of network processors
To provide flexibility in deploying new protocols and services, general-purpose processing engines are being placed in the datapath of routers. Such network processors (NPs) are typically simple RISC multiprocessors that perform forwarding and custom application processing of packets. The inherent unpredictability of execution time of arbitrary instruction code poses a significant challenge in providing service guarantees for data flows that compete for such processing resources in the network. However, we show that network processing workloads are highly regular and predictable, which can be exploited for scheduling purposes. We present two such predictive processor scheduling algorithms that aim at providing service guarantees as well as improving the performance of the NP by increasing the instruction data locality. Simulation results show that these algorithms provide significantly better performance than processor scheduling algorithms that do not take packet processing times into consideration.
18934348
Anomalies with variable partition paging algorithms
Five types of anomalous behaviour which may occur in paged virtual memory operating systems are defined. One type of anomaly, for example, concerns the fact that, with certain reference strings and paging algorithms, an increase in mean memory allocation may result in an increase in fault rate. Two paging algorithms, the page fault frequency and working set algorithms, are examined in terms of their anomaly potential, and reference string examples of various anomalies are presented. Two paging algorithm properties, the inclusion property and the generalized inclusion property, are discussed and the anomaly implications of these properties presented.
18485412
Gemini: An Optical Interconnection Network for Parallel Processing
The Gemini interconnect is a dual technology (optical and electrical) interconnection network designed for use in tightly-coupled multicomputer systems. It consists of a circuit-switched optical data path in parallel with a packet-switched electrical control/data path. The optical path is used for transmission of long data messages and the electrical path is used for switch control and transmission of short data messages. The paper describes the architecture of the interconnection network and related communications protocols. Fairness issues associated with network operation are addressed and a discrete-event simulation model of the entire system is described. Network performance characteristics derived from the simulation model are presented. The results show significant performance benefits when using virtual output queuing and quantify the tradeoffs between throughput and fairness in the system.
33759482
Working Set and Page Fault Frequency Paging Algorithms: A Performance Comparison
Performance of a paged virtual memory computer system operating under working set (WS) and page fault frequency (PFF) paging algorithms is analyzed analytically. Performance sensitivity to program reference behavior and paging algorithm parameter is studied for the two paging algorithms. The results indicate that when performance with the two algorithms is compared, the WS algorithm is generally less sensitive to changes in program behavior. Results are also provided relating to performance sensitivity to algorithm parameter selection.
15095971
Cost-based query scrambling for initial delays
Remote data access from disparate sources across a wide-area network such as the Internet is problematic due to the unpredictable nature of the communications medium and the lack of knowledge about the load and potential delays at remote sites. Traditional, static, query processing approaches break down in this environment because they are unable to adapt in response to unexpected delays. Query scrambling has been proposed to address this problem. Scrambling modifies query execution plans on-the-fly when delays are encountered during runtime. In its original formulation, scrambling was based on simple heuristics, which although providing good performance in many cases, were also shown to be susceptible to problems resulting from bad scrambling decisions. In this paper we address these shortcomings by investigating ways to exploit query optimization technology to aid in making intelligent scrambling choices. We propose three different approaches to using query optimization for scrambling. These approaches vary, for example, in whether they optimize for total work or response-time, and whether they construct partial or complete alternative plans. Using a two-phase randomized query optimizer, a distributed query processing simulator, and a workload derived from queries of the TPCD benchmark, we evaluate these different approaches and compare their ability to cope with initial delays in accessing remote sources. The results show that cost-based scrambling can effectively hide initial delays, but that in the absence of good predictions of expected delay durations, there are fundamental tradeoffs between risk aversion and effectiveness.
649388
A Fast Index for Semistructured Data
Queries navigate semistructured data via path expressions, and can be accelerated using an index. Our solution encodes paths as strings, and inserts those strings into a special index that is highly optimized for long and complex keys. We describe the Index Fabric, an indexing structure that provides the efficiency and flexibility we need. We discuss how "raw paths" are used to optimize ad hoc queries over semistructured data, and how "refined paths" optimize specific access paths. Although we can use knowledge about the queries and structure of the data to create refined paths, no such knowledge is needed for raw paths. A performance study shows that our techniques, when implemented on top of a commercial relational database system, outperform the more traditional approach of using the commercial system’s indexing mechanisms to query the XML.
7064637
Challenges in Ubiquitous Data Management
Ubiquitous computing is a compelling vision for the future that is moving closer to realization at an accelerating pace. The combination of global wireless and wired connectivity along with increasingly small and powerful devices enables a wide array of new applications that will change the nature of computing. Beyond new devices and communications mechanisms, however, the key technology that is required to make ubiquitous computing a reality is data management. In this short paper, I attempt to identify and organize the key aspects of ubiquitous computing applications and environments from a data management perspective and outline the data management challenges that they engender. Finally, I describe two on-going projects: Data Recharging and Telegraph, that are addressing some of these issues.
21834624
Events on the edge
The emergence of large-scale receptor-based systems has enabled applications to execute complex business logic over data generated from monitoring the physical world. An important functionality required by these applications is the detection and response to complex events, often in real-time. Bridging the gap between low-level receptor technology and such high-level needs of applications remains a significant challenge.We demonstrate our solution to this problem in the context of HiFi, a system we are building to solve the data management problems of large-scale receptor-based systems. Specifically, we show how HiFi generates simple events out of receptor data at its edges and provides high-functionality complex event processing mechanisms for sophisticated event detection using a real-world library scenario.
734165
Identity-Based Encryption from the Weil Pairing
We propose a fully functional identity-based encryption (IBE) scheme. The scheme has chosen ciphertext security in the random oracle model assuming a variant of the computational Diffie--Hellman problem. Our system is based on bilinear maps between groups. The Weil pairing on elliptic curves is an example of such a map. We give precise definitions for secure IBE schemes and give several applications for such systems.