Modelization for the Deployment of a Hierarchical Middleware on a Heterogeneous Platform

Accessing the power of distributed resources can nowadays easily be done using a middleware based on a client/server approach. Several architectures exist for those middlewares. The most scalable ones rely on a hierarchical design. Determining the best shape for the hierarchy, the one giving the best throughput of services, is not an easy task. We first propose a computation and communication model for such hierarchical middleware. Our model takes into account the deployment of several services in the hierarchy. Then, based on this model, we propose algorithms for automatically constructing a hierarchy on two kind of heterogeneous platforms: communication homogeneous/computation heterogeneous platforms, and fully heterogeneous platforms. The proposed algorithm aim at offering the users the best obtained to requested throughput ratio, while providing fairness on this ratio for the different kind of services, and using as few resources as possible. For each kind of platforms, we compare our model with experimental results on a real middleware called Diet.De nos jours, l'accès à des ressources distribuées peut être réalisé aisément en utilisant un intergiciel se basant sur une approche client/serveur. Différentes architectures existent pour de tels intergiciels. Ceux passant le mieux à l'échelle utilisent une hiérarchie d'agents. Déterminer quelle est la meilleure hiérarchie, c'est à dire celle qui fournira le meilleur débit au niveau des services, n'est pas une tâche aisée. Nous proposons tout d'abord un modèle de calcul et de communication pour de tels intergiciels hiérarchiques. Notre modèle prend en compte le déploiement de plusieurs services au sein de la hiérarchie. Puis, en nous basant sur le modèle, nous proposons des algorithmes pour construire automatiquement la hiérarchie sur différents types de plates-formes: des plates-formes avec des communications homogènes et des puissances de calcul hétérogènes, ou des plates-formes complètement hétérogènes. Les algorithmes visent à offrir aux utilisateurs le meilleur ratio entre le débit demandé, et le débit fourni, tout en utilisant le moins de ressources possible. Pour chaque type de plate-forme, nous comparons notre modèle à des résultats expérimentaux obtenus avec l'intergiciel de grille DIET

Virtualization And Self-organization For Utility Computing

We present an alternative paradigm for utility computing when the delivery of service is subject to binding contracts; the solution we propose is based on resource virtualization and a selfmanagement scheme. A virtual cloud aggregates set virtual machines to work in concert for the tasks specified by the service agreement. A first step for the establishment of a virtual cloud is to create a scale-free overlay network through a biased random walk; scale-free networks enjoy a set of remarkable properties such as: robustness against random failures, favorable scaling, and resilience to congestion, small diameter, and average path length. Constrains such as limits on the cost of per unit of service, total cost, or the requirement to use only “green computing cycles are then considered when a node of this overlay network decides whether to join the virtual cloud or not. A VIRTUAL CLOUD consists of a subset of the nodes assigned to the tasks specified by a Service Level Agreement, SLA, as well as a virtual interconnection network, or overlay network, for the virtual cloud. SLAs could serve as a congestion control mechanism for an organization providing utility computing; this mechanism allows the system to reject new contracts when there is the danger of overloading the system and failing to fulfill existing contractual obligations. The objective of this thesis is to show that biased random walks in power law networks are capable of responding to dynamic changes of the workload in utility computing

A Lightweight Interface to Local Grid Scheduling Systems

Many computationally intensive research problems can be addressed using a Grid architecture. However, Grid use is restricted to those who have an in-depth knowledge of its complex architecture and functionality. To make Grid computing more accessible, a lightweight Web 2.0 interface to the scheduling systems on which Grids rely, and which can serve as an abstraction of a large Grid environment, was built. The purpose of this interface was to simplify many of the complexities associated with using Grid architectures. A case study is used to demonstrate the applicability of the interface to a problem that can be solved using a Grid, while a user study demonstrates how users, with little or no experience using Grids, were able to accomplish tasks using the Grid. Lastly, it is shown that the Web 2.0 interface can outperform traditional static interfaces in terms of response time and bandwidth efficiency

Rethinking access to address the digital divide in news

Professional project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Journalism from the School of Journalism, University of Missouri--Columbia.U.S. citizens with disabilities are being denied their constitutional right to information because of barriers-to-access on news websites. Mainstream media organizations such as CNN, Fox News, NBC News, New York Times and USA Today aren't taking accessibility seriously. By prioritizing access, the media industry is treating impaired users like second-class citizens. In order for journalism to fulfill its responsibility in a democratic nation, the industry must adopt and prioritize Web accessibility.Includes bibliographic references

Interpolated Editorial Design

Established practices of editorial design for fiction and non-fiction primarily focus on the visual communication and curation of meaning to a user of a given text. This is usually accomplished via art direction, delivery platform, and overall form as defined by a designer. While within these parameters exist opportunities for designers to make significant interventions in a text, a text’s content proper is primarily defined by editors earlier in the book publishing process. According to this model, the relationship between editorial and design is vertical and linear in nature: editors handle initial publishing interventions in the text, while designers later intervene as facilitators of form and production. This thesis project challenges these established industry practices with regards to the publishing process of new editions of long-form literary classics: it defines new editorial roles for designers and proposes a collaborative and cyclical publishing process wherein the designer further defines the meaning of the text. Moreover, through consultation with professionals in literary education, extensive case studies, user group interviews and profiles, and experimental prototyping, this thesis defines new ways for designers to serve contemporary users of textual artifacts; these users engage in an increasingly multimedia environment of texts, images as texts, and texts as images. Prototyping of this project has yielded a new edition of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and an editorial design system that the researcher calls Interpolated Editorial Design, or InterED.Personal, noncommercial use of this item is permitted