Check out the new USENIX Web site.


USENIX, The Advanced Computing Systems Association

NSDI '06 — Abstract

Pp. 73–86 of the Proceedings

Exploiting Availability Prediction in Distributed Systems

James W. Mickens and Brian D. Noble, University of Michigan

Abstract

Loosely-coupled distributed systems have significant scale and cost advantages over more traditional architectures, but the availability of the nodes in these systems varies widely. Availability modeling is crucial for predicting per-machine resource burdens and understanding emergent, system-wide phenomena. We present new techniques for predicting availability and test them using traces taken from three distributed systems. We then describe three applications of availability prediction. The first, availability-guided replica placement, reduces object copying in a distributed data store while increasing data availability. The second shows how availability prediction can improve routing in delay-tolerant networks. The third combines availability prediction with virus modeling to improve forecasts of global infection dynamics.
  • View the full text of this paper in PDF. Listen to the presentation in MP3 format.
    Click here if you have forgotten your password Until May 2007, you will need your USENIX membership identification in order to access the full papers. The Proceedings are published as a collective work, © 2006 by the USENIX Association. All Rights Reserved. Rights to individual papers remain with the author or the author's employer. Permission is granted for the noncommercial reproduction of the complete work for educational or research purposes. USENIX acknowledges all trademarks within this paper.

  • If you need the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it from Adobe's site.
To become a USENIX Member, please see our Membership Information.

Last changed: 1 June 2006 ch