Implementation and study of the BandWidth Inheritance protocol in the Linux kernel

The proposed work try to achieve the main objectives of implement and investigate the behaviour of the BandWidth Inheritance protocol in a GNU/Linux system plus the AQuoSA framework. Firstly a modification of the Linux kernel and of the framework, so that they support the BWI protocol, is presented. After that, a deep analysis of performances and behaviour of the modified system is accomplished, in order to investigate both the benefits effectively produced by the protocol and the implementation introduced overhead, thus providing as much quantitative data as we can for future research steps in this area

Handling timing constraints violations in soft real-time applications as exceptions

In this paper, an exception-based programming paradigm is envisioned to deal with timing constraints violations occurring in soft real-time and multimedia applications written in the C language. In order to prove viability of the approach, a mechanism allowing to use such paradigm has been designed and implemented as an open-source library of C macros making use of the standard POSIX API (a few Linux-specific optimizations are also briefly discussed). The proposed approach has been validated by modifying mplayer, one of the most widely used multimedia player for Linux, so as to use the introduced library. An extensive experimental evaluation has been made, both when running the player alone and when mixing it with a workload of other synthetic real-time applications. In the latter case, different scheduling policies have been used, including both standard priority-based ones as available on the mainline Linux, and an experimental deadline-based one available as a separate patch. The shown results demonstrate how the exception-based paradigm is effective in improving the audio/video delay exhibited by the player achieving a superior performance and a dramatically better quality of experience as compared to the original heuristic frame-dropping mechanism of the player

Analysis and implementation of the multiprocessor bandwidth inheritance protocol

The Multiprocessor Bandwidth Inheritance (M-BWI) protocol is an extension of the Bandwidth Inheritance (BWI) protocol for symmetric multiprocessor systems. Similar to Priority Inheritance, M-BWI lets a task that has locked a resource execute in the resource reservations of the blocked tasks, thus reducing their blocking time. The protocol is particularly suitable for open systems where different kinds of tasks dynamically arrive and leave, because it guarantees temporal isolation among independent subsets of tasks without requiring any information on their temporal parameters. Additionally, if the temporal parameters of the interacting tasks are known, it is possible to compute an upper bound to the interference suffered by a task due to other interacting tasks. Thus, it is possible to provide timing guarantees for a subset of interacting hard real-time tasks. Finally, the M-BWI protocol is neutral to the underlying scheduling policy: it can be implemented in global, clustered and semi-partitioned scheduling. After introducing the M-BWI protocol, in this paper we formally prove its isolation properties, and propose an algorithm to compute an upper bound to the interference suffered by a task. Then, we describe our implementation of the protocol for the LITMUS RT real-time testbed, and measure its overhead. Finally, we compare M-BWI against FMLP and OMLP, two other protocols for resource sharing in multiprocessor systems

On the integration of application level and resource level QoS control for real-time applications

We consider a dynamic set of soft real-time applications using a set of shared resources. Each application can execute in different modes, each one associated with a level of Quality of Service (QoS). Resources, in their turn, have different modes, each one with a speed and a power consumption, and are managed by a Reservation Based scheduler enabling a dynamic allocation of the fraction of resources (bandwidth) assigned to each application. To cope with dynamic changes of the application, we advocate an adaptive resource allocation policy organised in two nested feedback loops. The internal loop operates on the scheduling parameter to obtain a resource allocation that meets the temporal constraints of the applications. The external loop operates on the QoS level of the applications and on the power level of the resources to strike a good trade-off between the global QoS and the energy consumption. This loop comes into play whenever the workload of the application exceeds the bounds that permit the internal loop to operate correctly, or whenever it decreases below a level that permit more aggressive choices for the QoS or substantial energy saving

Modular software architecture for flexible reservation mechanisms on heterogeneous resources

Management, allocation and scheduling of heterogeneous resources for complex distributed real-time applications is a chal- lenging problem. Timing constraints of applications may be fulfilled by a proper use of real-time scheduling policies, admission control and enforcement of timing constraints. However, it is not easy to design basic infrastructure services that allow for an easy access to the allocation of multiple heterogeneous resources in a distributed environment. In this paper, we present a middleware for providing distributed soft real-time applications with a uniform API for reserving heterogeneous resources with real-time scheduling capabilities in a distributed environment. The architecture relies on standard POSIX OS facilities, such as time management and standard TCP/IP networking services, and it is designed around CORBA, in order to facilitate modularity, flexibility and portability of the applications using it. However, real-time scheduling is supported by proper extensions at the kernel-level, plugged within the framework by means of dedicated resource managers. Our current implementation on Linux supports reservation of CPU, disk and network bandwidth. However, additional resource managers supporting alternative real-time schedulers for these resources, as well as additional types of resources, may be easily added. We present experimental results gathered on both synthetic applications and a real multimedia video streaming case study, showing advantages deriving from the use of the proposed middleware. Finally, overhead figures are reported, showing sustainability of the approach for a wide class of complex, distributed, soft real-time applications

On the integration of application level and resource level QoS control for realtime applications

Abstract We consider a dynamic set of soft real-time applications using a set of shared resources. Each application can execute in different modes, each one associated with a level of Quality of Service (QoS). Resources, in their turn, have different modes, each one with a speed and a power consumption, and are managed by a Reservation Based scheduler enabling a dynamic allocation of the fraction of resources (bandwidth) assigned to each application. To cope with dynamic changes of the application, we advocate an adaptive resource allocation policy organised in two nested feedback loops. The internal loop operates on the scheduling parameter to obtain a resource allocation that meets the temporal constraints of the applications. The external loop operates on the QoS level of the applications and on the power level of the resources to strike a good trade-off between the global QoS and the energy consumption. This loop comes into play whenever the workload of the application exceeds the bounds that permit the internal loop to operate correctly, or whenever it decreases below a level that permit more aggressive choices for the QoS or substantial energy saving

An automated procedure for the detection of the Yarkovsky effect and results from the ESA NEO Coordination Centre

Context: The measurement of the Yarkovsky effect on near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) is common practice in orbit determination today, and the number of detections will increase with the developments of new and more accurate telescopic surveys. However, the process of finding new detections and identifying spurious ones is not yet automated, and it often relies on personal judgment. Aims: We aim to introduce a more automated procedure that can search for NEA candidates to measure the Yarkovsky effect, and that can identify spurious detections. Methods: The expected semi-major axis drift on an NEA caused by the Yarkovsky effect was computed with a Monte Carlo method on a statistical model of the physical parameters of the asteroid that relies on the most recent NEA population models and data. The expected drift was used to select candidates in which the Yarkovsky effect might be detected, according to the current knowledge of their orbit and the length of their observational arc. Then, a nongravitational acceleration along the transverse direction was estimated through orbit determination for each candidate. If the detected acceleration was statistically significant, we performed a statistical test to determine whether it was compatible with the Yarkovsky effect model. Finally, we determined the dependence on an isolated tracklet. Results: Among the known NEAs, our procedure automatically found 348 detections of the Yarkovsky effect that were accepted. The results are overall compatible with the predicted trend with the the inverse of the diameter, and the procedure appears to be efficient in identifying and rejecting spurious detections. This algorithm is now adopted by the ESA NEO Coordination Centre to periodically update the catalogue of NEAs with a measurable Yarkovsky effect, and the results are automatically posted on the web portal.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&

An Exception Based Approach to Timing Constraints Violations in Real-Time and Multimedia Applications.

Abstract—In this paper, an exception-based programming paradigm is envisioned to deal with timing constraints violations occurring in soft real-time and multimedia applications written in the C language. In order to prove viability of the approach, a mechanism allowing to use such paradigm has been designed and implemented as an open-source library of C macros making use of the standard POSIX API (a few Linux-specific optimizations are also briefly discussed). The envisioned approach has been validated by modifying mplayer, one of the most widely used multimedia player for Linux, so as to use the introduced library. Experimental results demonstrate how the exception-based paradigm is effective in improving the audio/video delay exhibited by the player. I