Automated Evaluation for Distributed System Assignments

A distributed system can exist in numerous states, including many erroneous permutations that could have been addressed in the code. As distributed systems such as cloud computing and microservices gain popularity, involving distributed com- puting assignments is becoming increasingly crucial in Computer Science and related fields. However, designing such systems poses various challenges, such as considering parallel executions, error-inducing edge cases, and interactions with external systems. Typically, distributed assignments require students to implement a system and run multiple instances of the same code to behave as distributed. However, such assign- ments do not encourage students to consider the potential edge cases that external systems may induce when interacting with their code. Assignments that execute a combination of student submissions as a single system promote high-quality design discussions before and during code writing and encourage students to consider how to handle faults generated by other systems. Testing such assignments is labor-intensive and involves repetitive tasks of setting up and destroying a virtual environment in which to test the system. In some cases, inducing a specific type of fault may require modifying the submitted source code, which is strongly discouraged. This research project explores the necessity, design, and implementation of Distributed CodEval, a tool that enables course instructors to define test cases for automating the evaluation of distributed system assignments

An investigation of distributed computing for combinatorial testing

Combinatorial test generation, also calledt-way testing, is the process ofgenerating sets of input parameters for a system under test, by consideringinteractions between values of multiple parameters. In order to decrease totaltesting time, there is an interest in techniques that generate smaller test suites.In our previous work, we used graph techniques to produce high-quality testsuites. However, these techniques require a lot of computing power andmemory, which is why this paper investigates distributed computing fort-waytesting. We first introduce our distributed graph colouring method, with newalgorithms for building the graph and for colouring it. Second, we present ourdistributed hypergraph vertex covering method and a new heuristic. Third, weshow how to build a distributed IPOG algorithm by leveraging either graphcolouring or hypergraph vertex covering as vertical growth algorithms.Finally, we test these new methods on a computer cluster and compare themto existingt-way testing tools

Preliminary Results in Virtual Testing for Smart Buildings (Poster)

International audienceSmart buildings promise to revolutionize the way we live. Applications ranging from climate control to fire management can have significant impact on the quality and cost of these services. However, a smart building and any technology with direct effect on the safety of its occupants must undergo extensive testing. Virtual testing by means of computer simulation can significantly reduce the cost of testing and, as a result, accelerate the development of novel applications. Unfortunately, building physically-accurate simulation codes can be labor intensive. To address this problem, we propose a framework for rapid, physically-accurate virtual testing of smart building systems. The proposed framework supports analytical modeling and simulation of both a discrete distributed system as well as the physical environment that hosts it

Holistic debugging - enabling instruction set simulation for software quality assurance

We present holistic debugging, a novel method for observing execution of complex and distributed software. It builds on an instruction set simulator, which provides reproducible experiments and non-intrusive probing of state in a distributed system. Instruction set simulators, however, only provide low-level information, so a holistic debugger contains a translation framework that maps this information to higher abstraction level observation tools, such as source code debuggers. We have created Nornir, a proof-of-concept holistic debugger, built on the simulator Simics. For each observed process in the simulated system, Nornir creates an abstraction translation stack, with virtual machine translators that map machine-level storage contents (e.g. physical memory, registers) provided by Simics, to application-level data (e.g. virtual memory contents) by parsing the data structures of operating systems and virtual machines. Nornir includes a modified version of the GNU debugger (GDB), which supports non-intrusive symbolic debugging of distributed applications. Nornir's main interface is a debugger shepherd, a programmable interface that controls multiple debuggers, and allows users to coherently inspect the entire state of heterogeneous, distributed applications. It provides a robust observation platform for construction of new observation tools

Network emulation focusing on QoS-Oriented satellite communication

This chapter proposes network emulation basics and a complete case study of QoS-oriented Satellite Communication

A requirements engineering framework for integrated systems development for the construction industry

Computer Integrated Construction (CIC) systems are computer environments through which collaborative working can be undertaken. Although many CIC systems have been developed to demonstrate the communication and collaboration within the construction projects, the uptake of CICs by the industry is still inadequate. This is mainly due to the fact that research methodologies of the CIC development projects are incomplete to bridge the technology transfer gap. Therefore, defining comprehensive methodologies for the development of these systems and their effective implementation on real construction projects is vital. Requirements Engineering (RE) can contribute to the effective uptake of these systems because it drives the systems development for the targeted audience. This paper proposes a requirements engineering approach for industry driven CIC systems development. While some CIC systems are investigated to build a broad and deep contextual knowledge in the area, the EU funded research project, DIVERCITY (Distributed Virtual Workspace for Enhancing Communication within the Construction Industry), is analysed as the main case study project because its requirements engineering approach has the potential to determine a framework for the adaptation of requirements engineering in order to contribute towards the uptake of CIC systems