Collaborative Research: FMitF: Track I: Game Theoretic Updates for Network and Cloud Functions

合作研究：FMitF：第一轨：网络和云功能的博弈论更新

• 批准号: 2318970
• 负责人: Jedidiah McClurg
• 金额: $ 35.5万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-15 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2318970&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; FMitF; Track; Game

Updates are common in cloud-computing networks, and they occur for many reasons. Some network updates are planned while others are unplanned and automated. Since network updates can take seconds or minutes to complete, and cloud-computing networks must be "always on", updates must be efficient and transparent. Researchers have proposed various abstractions for network updating that leverage advances in formal methods to synthesize update plans and protocols, ensuring that the system remains well-behaved during an ongoing update. However, despite several high-profile cases of network updates gone wrong, operators continue to use relatively naive approaches. We investigate key shortcomings of prior work on update abstractions that limit their utility and widespread use in practice, and develop a new abstraction that addresses the heterogeneity, scale, and dynamic nature of real-world updates. The project's novelties are (1) a new game-theoretic foundation for network updates, (2) algorithms for synthesizing update controllers that are robust to failures and changing conditions during the update, (3) algorithms for explaining update failures, (4) a language design that allows synthesized controllers to be safely modified, and (5) implementations and evaluations of these mechanisms for virtual network functions and serverless-computing platforms. The project provides network operators with tools that make updates to networked systems easier, safer, and more reliable, and develops a framework that makes datacenter computing more reliable and secure.Some specific key shortcomings of previous work on network updates are the following. (1) They assume that the network behaves predictably during the update. However, at scale, network demands and concurrent updates can cause unpredictable or even adversarial behavior in response to the update. (2) They have limited explanatory power when an update plan cannot be found or cannot be completed. (3) They make it hard for operators to choose between alternative update plans. This project consists of a comprehensive research plan to address these shortcomings. The key technical innovation is a formulation of updates as the search for a winning strategy in a two-player game, between the operator (or control plane) and the network. This formulation allows a uniform modeling of key elements, including hardware and software failures, variations in demand, and the addition and removal of network elements. To produce updates that are robust to changing conditions and failures, this work uses program-synthesis techniques to automatically generate an update controller that corresponds to a winning strategy in the game. To help operators when fatal errors occur, the project develops algorithms that exploit this game-theoretic formulation to explain the root cause of update failures and present alternatives. Finally, to give operators more control over updates, the investigators develop approaches for synthesizing update controllers that are interpretable and modifiable. The game-theoretic formulation is applicable to several kinds of networked systems, and the project will instantiate and evaluate our tools for platforms that implement virtual network functions and serverless functions.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.

更新在云计算网络中很常见，原因有很多。一些网络更新是计划内的，而另一些则是计划外的和自动的。由于网络更新可能需要数秒或数分钟才能完成，而云计算网络必须“始终在线”，因此更新必须高效且透明。研究人员提出了各种网络更新的抽象，利用形式化方法的进步来综合更新计划和协议，确保系统在持续更新期间保持良好的行为。然而，尽管有几个备受瞩目的网络更新出错的案例，运营商仍然使用相对幼稚的方法。我们调查的更新抽象，限制其实用性和广泛使用的实践中，以前的工作的主要缺点，并开发一个新的抽象，解决现实世界的更新的异构性，规模和动态性。该项目的新颖之处在于：（1）网络更新的新博弈论基础，（2）用于合成更新控制器的算法，该算法对更新期间的故障和变化条件具有鲁棒性，（3）用于解释更新失败的算法，（4）允许安全修改合成控制器的语言设计，以及（5）用于虚拟网络功能和无服务器计算平台的这些机制的实现和评估。该项目为网络运营商提供了工具，使网络系统的更新更容易，更安全，更可靠，并开发了一个框架，使数据中心计算更可靠，更安全。(1)他们假设网络在更新期间的行为是可预测的。然而，在大规模情况下，网络需求和并发更新可能会导致不可预测的甚至是对抗性的行为。(2)当无法找到或无法完成更新计划时，它们的解释力有限。(3)它们使得运营商很难在替代更新计划之间做出选择。该项目包括一个全面的研究计划，以解决这些缺点。关键的技术创新是将更新的公式化为在运营商（或控制平面）和网络之间的双人游戏中寻找获胜策略。该公式允许对关键元素进行统一建模，包括硬件和软件故障、需求变化以及网络元素的添加和删除。为了产生对不断变化的条件和故障具有鲁棒性的更新，这项工作使用程序合成技术来自动生成与游戏中的获胜策略相对应的更新控制器。为了在发生致命错误时帮助运营商，该项目开发了利用这种博弈论公式来解释更新失败的根本原因并提出替代方案的算法。最后，为了使操作员对更新有更多的控制，研究人员开发了用于合成可解释和可修改的更新控制器的方法。博弈论公式适用于多种网络系统，该项目将对我们的工具进行实例化和评估，用于实现虚拟网络功能和无服务器功能的平台。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。