DCS: Multiprocessor Real-Time Computing: Formal Foundations

背景随着实时嵌入式系统变得越来越普遍、重要和复杂，这种系统的设计和分析所基于的形式基础必须跟上技术创新的步伐。这项提议是针对实时和嵌入式系统领域所取得的根本性进展。第一，组成这种系统的软件正变得越来越复杂；第二，这种系统越来越多地在由多个处理单元组成的执行平台上实现。PI建议通过一些正式的方法来增强对复杂的、多处理器的实时系统的行为的理解，这些方法试图根据可行性、调度能力和其他重要的实时约束和问题来对这种系统进行建模和分析。智能优点--导出新的实时任务的抽象模型，其准确地捕捉要在多处理器平台上实现的真实生活应用系统的显著特征，并识别用于将应用系统映射到最合适的模型上的规则。-设计新的运行时多处理器调度算法，该算法被证明比当前使用的算法更好，在运行时效率和在线分析的可处理性方面。-分析各种(当前和新的)任务模型，以便加强我们对从时序分析的观点看什么内在属性使模型变得难以处理的理解，并识别非常一般的易处理模型类别。-构建验证在该研究过程中获得的理论结果的有用性的“概念验证”软件。广泛影响-作为该项目的一部分而实施的所有工具和开发平台将被公开，并将在互联网上传播。-开发平台将被整合到关于实时和嵌入式系统的本科生和研究生课程中。-将设计高级(研讨会)课程和项目，涉及在这些平台上开发实验性应用程序。-将共同努力让代表不足的群体参与这项研究。-PI打算访问他们所在地区的一些历史悠久的黑人大学，介绍他们的工作，希望建立研究伙伴关系。-公共宣传还将通过参加北卡罗来纳大学针对K-12学生、大学生和学校教师的长期演示计划来实现。

BackgroundAs real-time embedded systems become ever more prevalent, important, and complex, it is becoming imperative that the formal foundations upon which the design and analysis of such systems are based keep pace with technological innovations. This proposal is addressing fundamental advances that have occurred in the real-time and embedded systems domain. First, the software that comprises such systems is becoming increasingly more complex; and second, such systems are increasingly coming to be implemented on execution platforms comprised of multiple processing units. The PIs propose to enhance the understanding of the behavior of complex, multiprocessor, real-time systems through some formal methods that attempt to model and analyze such systems in terms of feasibility, schedule ability and other important real-time constraints and issues.Intellectual Merit-Deriving new abstract models of real-time tasks that accurately capture salient features of real-life application systems that are to be implemented on multiprocessor platforms, and identifying rules for mapping application systems onto the most appropriate models.-Designing new run-time multiprocessor scheduling algorithms that are provably better than ones currently used, both in terms of run-time efficiency and in terms of tractability of on-line analysis.-Analyzing various (current and new) task models in order to enhance our understanding of what intrinsic properties render a model intractable from a timing analysis point of view, and to identify very general classes of tractable models.-Constructing "proof-of-concept" software that validates the usefulness of the theoretical results obtained during the course of this research.Broader Impact-All tools and development platforms implemented as part of this project will be made public, and will be disseminated over the Internet.-Development platforms will be integrated into undergraduate and graduate courses on real-time and embedded systems.-Advanced (seminar) courses and projects will be devised involving the development of experimental applications on these platforms.-A concerted effort will be made to involve under-represented groups in this research. -The PIs intend to visit some of the Historically Black Universities in their area to make presentations concerning their work, with the hope of establishing research partnerships.-Public outreach will also be accomplished by participating in UNC's long-running demo program, which is aimed at K-12 students, college students, and schoolteachers.