CSR: Medium: Understanding and Automatically Adjusting Performance Sensitive Software Configurations

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Every day, people interact with complex software systems on their mobile devices and in the cloud. Experts develop this software, but they cannot account for all possible uses, so they make the software configurable using redefinable parameters. Most of these parameters affect software's performance. These performance-related configuration parameters are growing exponentially. Unfortunately, so is the difficulty of setting them. Performance-related misconfigurations are a leading cause of system failures (e.g., web services crashing) and lag (e.g., delayed response to user requests). This project will develop AutoConf to automatically set performance-related configuration parameters and eliminate these sources of failure in critical software infrastructure.To better understand and manage performance-related configurations, AutoConf has four major research objectives. The first is studying existing configuration parameters to understand why and when they lead to failures. The second is designing a new interface where users set high-level goals in terms of desired performance rather than setting specific parameter values. The third is developing techniques that automatically and dynamically configure software to meet these goals. The final objective is constructing tools that ensure the interface's proper usage to produce the desired behavior.If successful, AutoConf will change the way users deploy software. Instead of setting 100s of configuration parameters, they will state their goals. AutoConf will automatically adjust performance-related configurations to ensure the goals are met, resulting in faster and more robust software deployment. Additionally, the AutoConf project will create many research opportunities that will be used to broaden participation in computer science.Documentation and software releases will be posted at http://autoconf.cs.uchicago.edu/.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.