NSF/CAREER: Robust Data-intensive Cluster Programming

设备复杂性和设计多样性的结合指向将由本质上和可观察到的异构组件构建的系统。我们需要的是一种新的设计原则，它可以解释固有的不稳定的组件行为，并促进健壮和可预测系统的设计和实现。健壮的应用程序开发所必需的基础设施是在称为asIce的集群编程新系统的上下文中开发的。研究沿着四个轴进行：创建完全健壮的数据传输机制，探索先进的适应技术，自动化和易用性的新方法，以及健壮系统的理论基础的发展。这项工作的总体目标是培养对如何构建“工作良好”的可扩展集群系统的基本理解，即使某些底层组件不能正常工作。这种真正健壮的系统是可预测的、可靠的、可用的，尽管组成部分出现波动和故障，但性能良好，不需要人为干预。这种系统的主要优点之一是减轻了管理负担：只需增加新的组成部分并充分利用它们的能力。

The combination of device complexity and design diversity point towardssystems that will be constructed from components that are both inherently andobservably heterogeneous. What is needed is a new design discipline thataccounts for inherently erratic component behavior, and facilitates thedesign and implementation of robust and predictable systems. The necessary infrastructure for robust application development is beingdeveloped within the context of a new system for cluster programming known asIce. Research proceeds along four axes: the creation of fully robustdata-transfer mechanisms, the exploration of advanced techniques foradaptation, new approaches to automation and ease-of-use, and development ofthe theoretical underpinnings of robust systems. The overall goal of this work is to develop a fundamental understanding of howto build scalable clustered systems that ``work well'', even when some of theunderlying components do not. Such truly robust systems are predictable,reliable, and available, perform well in spite of fluctuations and failures ofconstituent components, and require no human intervention. One of the mainadvantages of such systems is the reduction of the burden of administration:new components are simply added and utilized to their full capacity.