Automatic Scaling in Cloud Computing

This dissertation thesis deals with automatic scaling in cloud computing, mainly focusing on the performance of interactive workloads, that is web servers and services, running in an elastic cloud environment. In the rst part of the thesis, the possibility of forecasting the daily curve of workload is evaluated using long-range seasonal techniques of statistical time series analysis. The accuracy is high enough to enable either green computing or lling the unused capacity with batch jobs, hence the need for long-range forecasts. The second part focuses on simulations of automatic scaling, which is necessary for the interactive workload to actually free up space when it is not being utilized at peak capacity. Cloud users are mostly scared of letting a machine control their servers, which is why realistic simulations are needed. We have explored two methods, event-driven simulation and queuetheoretic models. During work on the rst, we have extended the widely-used CloudSim simulation package to be able to dynamically scale the simulation setup at run time and have corrected its engine using knowledge from queueing theory. Our own simulator then relies solely on theoretical models, making it much more precise and much faster than the more general CloudSim. The tools from the two parts together constitute the theoretical foundation which, once implemented in practice, can help leverage cloud technology to actually increase the e ciency of data center hardware. In particular, the main contributions of the dissertation thesis are as follows: 1. New methodology for forecasting time series of web server load and its validation 2. Extension of the often-used simulator CloudSim for interactive load and increasing the accuracy of its output 3. Design and implementation of a fast and accurate simulator of automatic scaling using queueing theoryTato dizerta cn pr ace se zab yv a cloud computingem, konkr etn e se zam e ruje na v ykon interaktivn z at e ze, nap r klad webov ych server u a slu zeb, kter e b e z v elastick em cloudov em prost red . V prvn c asti pr ace je zhodnocena mo znost p redpov d an denn k rivky z at e ze pomoc metod statistick e anal yzy casov ych rad se sez onn m prvkem a dlouh ym dosahem. P resnost je dostate cn e vysok a, aby umo znila bu d set ren energi nebo vypl nov an nevyu zit e kapacity d avkov ymi ulohami, jejich z doba b ehu je hlavn m d uvodem pro pot rebu dlouhodob e p redpov edi. Druh a c ast se zam e ruje na simulace automatick eho sk alov an , kter e je nutn e, aby interaktivn z at e z skute cn e uvolnila prostor, pokud nen vyt e zov ana na plnou kapacitu. U zivatel e cloud u se p rev a zn e boj nechat stroj, aby ovl adal jejich servery, a pr av e proto jsou pot reba realistick e simulace. Prozkoumali jsme dv e metody, konkr etn e simulaci s prom enn ym casov ym krokem r zen ym ud alostmi a modely z teorie hromadn e obsluhy. B ehem pr ace na prvn z t echto metod jsme roz s rili siroce pou z van y simula cn bal k CloudSim o mo znost dynamicky sk alovat simulovan y syst em za b ehu a opravili jsme jeho j adro za pomoci znalost z teorie hromadn e obsluhy. N a s vlastn simul ator se pak spol eh a pouze na teoretick e modely, co z ho cin p resn ej s m a mnohem rychlej s m ne zli obecn ej s CloudSim. N astroje z obou c ast pr ace tvo r dohromady teoretick y z aklad, kter y, pokud bude implementov an v praxi, pom u ze vyu z t technologii cloudu tak, aby se skute cn e zv y sila efektivita vyu zit hardwaru datov ych center. Hlavn p r nosy t eto dizerta cn pr ace jsou n asleduj c : 1. Stanoven metodologie pro p redpov d an casov ych rad z at e ze webov ych server u a jej validace 2. Roz s ren casto citovan eho simul atoru CloudSim o mo znost simulace interaktivn z at e ze a zp resn en jeho v ysledk u 3. N avrh a implementace rychl eho a p resn eho simul atoru automatick eho sk alov an vyu z vaj c ho teorii hromadn e obsluhyKatedra kybernetik

ASimJava: a Java-based library for distributed simulation, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2004, nr 3

The paper describes the design, performance and applications of ASimJava, a Java-based library for distributed simulation of large networks. The important issues associated with the implementation of parallel and distributed simulation are discussed. The focus is on the effectiveness of different synchronization protocols implemented in ASimJava. The practical example - computer network simulation - is provided to illustrate the operation of the presented software tool

A Survey on Automatic Parameter Tuning for Big Data Processing Systems

Big data processing systems (e.g., Hadoop, Spark, Storm) contain a vast number of configuration parameters controlling parallelism, I/O behavior, memory settings, and compression. Improper parameter settings can cause significant performance degradation and stability issues. However, regular users and even expert administrators grapple with understanding and tuning them to achieve good performance. We investigate existing approaches on parameter tuning for both batch and stream data processing systems and classify them into six categories: rule-based, cost modeling, simulation-based, experiment-driven, machine learning, and adaptive tuning. We summarize the pros and cons of each approach and raise some open research problems for automatic parameter tuning.Peer reviewe

Stochastic scheduling and workload allocation : QoS support and profitable brokering in computing grids

Abstract: The Grid can be seen as a collection of services each of which performs some functionality. Users of the Grid seek to use combinations of these services to perform the overall task they need to achieve. In general this can be seen as aset of services with a workflow document describing how these services should be combined. The user may also have certain constraints on the workflow operations, such as execution time or cost ----t~ th~ user, specified in the form of a Quality of Service (QoS) document. The users . submit their workflow to a brokering service along with the QoS document. The brokering service's task is to map any given workflow to a subset of the Grid services taking the QoS and state of the Grid into account -- service availability and performance. We propose an approach for generating constraint equations describing the workflow, the QoS requirements and the state of the Grid. This set of equations may be solved using Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP), which is the traditional method. We further develop a novel 2-stage stochastic MILP which is capable of dealing with the volatile nature of the Grid and adapting the selection of the services during the lifetime of the workflow. We present experimental results comparing our approaches, showing that the . 2-stage stochastic programming approach performs consistently better than other traditional approaches. Next we addresses workload allocation techniques for Grid workflows in a multi-cluster Grid We model individual clusters as MIMIk. queues and obtain a numerical solutio~ for missed deadlines (failures) of tasks of Grid workflows. We also present an efficient algorithm for obtaining workload allocations of clusters. Next we model individual cluster resources as G/G/l queues and solve an optimisation problem that minimises QoS requirement violation, provides QoS guarantee and outperforms reservation based scheduling algorithms. Both approaches are evaluated through an experimental simulation and the results confirm that the proposed workload allocation strategies combined with traditional scheduling algorithms performs considerably better in terms of satisfying QoS requirements of Grid workflows than scheduling algorithms that don't employ such workload allocation techniques. Next we develop a novel method for Grid brokers that aims at maximising profit whilst satisfying end-user needs with a sufficient guarantee in a volatile utility Grid. We develop a develop a 2-stage stochastic MILP which is capable of dealing with the volatile nature . of the Grid and obtaining cost bounds that ensure that end-user cost is minimised or satisfied and broker's profit is maximised with sufficient guarantee. These bounds help brokers know beforehand whether the budget limits of end-users can be satisfied and. if not then???????? obtain appropriate future leases from service providers. Experimental results confirm the efficacy of our approach.Imperial Users onl

MapReduce network enabled algorithms for classification based on association rules

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.There is growing evidence that integrating classification and association rule mining can produce more efficient and accurate classifiers than traditional techniques. This thesis introduces a new MapReduce based association rule miner for extracting strong rules from large datasets. This miner is used later to develop a new large scale classifier. Also new MapReduce simulator was developed to evaluate the scalability of proposed algorithms on MapReduce clusters. The developed associative rule miner inherits the MapReduce scalability to huge datasets and to thousands of processing nodes. For finding frequent itemsets, it uses hybrid approach between miners that uses counting methods on horizontal datasets, and miners that use set intersections on datasets of vertical formats. The new miner generates same rules that usually generated using apriori-like algorithms because it uses the same confidence and support thresholds definitions. In the last few years, a number of associative classification algorithms have been proposed, i.e. CPAR, CMAR, MCAR, MMAC and others. This thesis also introduces a new MapReduce classifier that based MapReduce associative rule mining. This algorithm employs different approaches in rule discovery, rule ranking, rule pruning, rule prediction and rule evaluation methods. The new classifier works on multi-class datasets and is able to produce multi-label predications with probabilities for each predicted label. To evaluate the classifier 20 different datasets from the UCI data collection were used. Results show that the proposed approach is an accurate and effective classification technique, highly competitive and scalable if compared with other traditional and associative classification approaches. Also a MapReduce simulator was developed to measure the scalability of MapReduce based applications easily and quickly, and to captures the behaviour of algorithms on cluster environments. This also allows optimizing the configurations of MapReduce clusters to get better execution times and hardware utilization

Capacity planning and stochastic scheduling in grid computing environments

Imperial Users onl

Application of a Blockchain Enabled Model in Disaster Aids Supply Network Resilience

The disaster area is a dynamic environment. The bottleneck in distributing the supplies may be from the damaged infrastructure or the unavailability of accurate information about the required amounts. The success of the disaster response network is based on collaboration, coordination, sovereignty, and equality in relief distribution. Therefore, a reliable dynamic communication system is required to facilitate the interactions, enhance the knowledge for the relief operation, prioritize, and coordinate the goods distribution. One of the promising innovative technologies is blockchain technology which enables transparent, secure, and real-time information exchange and automation through smart contracts. This study analyzes the application of blockchain technology on disaster management resilience. The influences of this most promising application on the disaster aid supply network resilience combined with the Internet of Things (IoT) and Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling (DVFS) algorithm are explored employing a network-based simulation. The theoretical analysis reveals an advancement in disaster-aids supply network strategies using smart contracts for collaborations. The simulation study indicates an enhance in resilience by improvement in collaboration and communication due to more time-efficient processing for disaster supply management. From the investigations, insights have been derived for researchers in the field and the managers interested in practical implementation

Component-Based Tools for Educational Simulations

e-Learning is an effective medium for delivering knowledge and skills. In spite of improvements in electronic delivery technologies, e-Learning is still a long way away from offering anything close to efficient and effective learning environments. To improve e-Learning experiences, much literature supports simulation based e-Learning. This thesis begins identifying various types of simulation models and their features that induce experiential learning. We focus on designing and constructing an easy-to-use Discrete Event Simulation (DES) tool for building engaging and informative interactive DES models that allow learners to control the models’ parameters and visualizations through runtime interactions. DES has long been used to support analysis and design of complex systems but its potential to enhance learning has not yet been fully utilized. We first present an application framework and its resulting classes for better structuring DES models. However, importing relevant classes, establishing relationships between their objects and representing lifecycles of various types of active objects in a language that does not support concurrency demand a significant cognitive workload. To improve this situation, we utilize two design patterns to ease model structuring and logic representation (both in time and space) through a drag and drop component approach. The patterns are the Delegation Event Model, used for linking between components and delegating tasks of executing and updating active objects’ lifecycles, and the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern, used for connecting the components to their graphical instrumentations and GUIs. Components implementing both design patterns support the process-oriented approach, can easily be tailored to store model states and visualizations, and can be extended to design higher level models through hierarchical simulation development. Evaluating this approach with both teachers and learners using ActionScript as an implementation language in the Flash environment shows that the resulting components not only help model designers with few programming skills to construct DES models, but they also allow learners to conduct various experiments through interactive GUIs and observe the impact of changes to model behaviour through a range of engaging visualizations. Such interactions can motivate learners and make their learning an enjoyable experience