A framework for process migration in software DSM environments

Abstract

Proves that process migration can successfully be implemented for software distributed shared memory (DSM) environments. We have developed a migration framework that is able to transparently migrate DSM processes, thereby preserving the consistency of running applications. The migration framework is integrated into the CORAL (Cooperative Online monitoRing Actions Layer) system, an online monitoring system that connects parallel tools to a running application. A special emphasis has been put on techniques and mechanisms for the migration of shared resources and communication channels as well as internal monitoring data structures. Currently, the migration framework migrates parallel processes based on the TreadMarks library. The Condor library has been utilized for the state transfer of a single process. In a computing environment consisting of eight nodes running TreadMarks applications, the migration framework brings a 10% overhead to Condor and grows almost linearly with added nodes. Although our first implementation supports TreadMarks applications, both the monitoring system and the migration framework are designed to be reusable and easily adaptable to other software DSM systems.