Boosting Multi-Core Reachability Performance with Shared Hash Tables

This paper focuses on data structures for multi-core reachability, which is a key component in model checking algorithms and other verification methods. A cornerstone of an efficient solution is the storage of visited states. In related work, static partitioning of the state space was combined with thread-local storage and resulted in reasonable speedups, but left open whether improvements are possible. In this paper, we present a scaling solution for shared state storage which is based on a lockless hash table implementation. The solution is specifically designed for the cache architecture of modern CPUs. Because model checking algorithms impose loose requirements on the hash table operations, their design can be streamlined substantially compared to related work on lockless hash tables. Still, an implementation of the hash table presented here has dozens of sensitive performance parameters (bucket size, cache line size, data layout, probing sequence, etc.). We analyzed their impact and compared the resulting speedups with related tools. Our implementation outperforms two state-of-the-art multi-core model checkers (SPIN and DiVinE) by a substantial margin, while placing fewer constraints on the load balancing and search algorithms.Comment: preliminary repor

Middleware-based Database Replication: The Gaps between Theory and Practice

The need for high availability and performance in data management systems has been fueling a long running interest in database replication from both academia and industry. However, academic groups often attack replication problems in isolation, overlooking the need for completeness in their solutions, while commercial teams take a holistic approach that often misses opportunities for fundamental innovation. This has created over time a gap between academic research and industrial practice. This paper aims to characterize the gap along three axes: performance, availability, and administration. We build on our own experience developing and deploying replication systems in commercial and academic settings, as well as on a large body of prior related work. We sift through representative examples from the last decade of open-source, academic, and commercial database replication systems and combine this material with case studies from real systems deployed at Fortune 500 customers. We propose two agendas, one for academic research and one for industrial R&D, which we believe can bridge the gap within 5-10 years. This way, we hope to both motivate and help researchers in making the theory and practice of middleware-based database replication more relevant to each other.Comment: 14 pages. Appears in Proc. ACM SIGMOD International Conference on Management of Data, Vancouver, Canada, June 200

A Clouded Future: Analysis of Microsoft Windows Azure As a Platform for Hosting E-Science Applications

Microsoft Windows Azure is Microsoft\u27s cloud based platform for hosting .NET applications. Azure provides a simple, cost effective method for outsourcing application hosting. Windows Azure has caught the eye of researchers in e-science who require parallel computing infrastructures to process mountains of data. Windows Azure offers the same benefits to e-science as it does to other industries. This paper examines the technology behind Azure and analyzes two case studies of e-science projects built on the Windows Azure platform

Milner Library Master Plan

A compilation of all research and design efforts of the Planning Team: Bailey Edward and consultants Pfeiffer Partners, The Sextant Group, IMEG Corp., and Hitchcock Design Group, the Illinois State University Milner Library Master Plan aligns Milner Library to Illinois State University’s vision to Educate, Connect, and Elevate. To achieve this goal, it was essential to establish a Milner Library Master Plan vision which would drive the design concept development and prioritize all strategic planning for execution.https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/mlp/1001/thumbnail.jp