Model-Based Resource Provisioning in a Web Service Utility

Internet service utilities host multiple server applications on a shared server cluster. A key challenge for these systems is to provision shared resources on demand to meet service quality targets at least cost. This paper presents a new approach to utility resource management focusing on coordinated provisioning of memory and storage resources. Our approach is model-based: it incorporates internal models of service behavior to predict the value of candidate resource allotments under changing load. The model-based approach enables the system to achieve important resource management goals, including differentiated service quality, performance isolation, storage-aware caching, and proactive allocation of surplus resources to meet performance goals. Experimental results with a prototype demonstrate model-based dynamic provisioning under Web workloads with static content.