Control theory for model-based performance-driven software adaptation
File(s)2015-qosa.pdf (520.82 KB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Arcelli, D
Cortellessa, V
Filieri, A
Leva, A
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
Self-adaptive techniques have been introduced in the last few years to tackle the growing complexity of software systems, where a major complexity factor leans on their dynamic nature subject to sudden and unpredictable changes that can heavily impact on the software architecture quality. Non-functional models, as generated from architectural descriptions of software, have been proven as effective instruments to support designers meeting non-functional requirements since the early architectural phases. However, such models still lack of intrinsic support for adaptable software. Goal of this paper is to extend the modeling capabilities to the case of software adaptation aimed at satisfying performance requirements. In particular, we illustrate how control theory can solve the problem of keeping within pre-defined ranges the indices of a Queueing Network model (such as queue length) through software adaptation actions (such as replacing software services with less resource-demanding ones), while the model is subject to disturbances (such as workload and/or operational profile variations). For this goal we first introduce a library of Modelica components that represent Queueing Network (QN) elements with adaptable parameters (that can be used as knobs for adaptation actions). Then we use such components to build ``adaptable`` QN models that are subject to disturbances. Finally, in the same framework, we introduce controllers that drive the QN adaptation. We demonstrate the soundness of our approach on a simple representative example in two ways: (i) on one end, we provide a formal proof of controller performance guarantees, and (ii) on the other end we show the sensitivity over time of software adaptation actions to different (types and intensities of) disturbances.
Date Issued
2015-05-04
Date Acceptance
2015-05-04
Citation
Proceedings of the 11th International ACM SIGSOFT Conference on Quality of Software Architectures, 2015, pp.11-20
ISBN
978-1-4503-3470-9
Publisher
ACM
Start Page
11
End Page
20
Journal / Book Title
Proceedings of the 11th International ACM SIGSOFT Conference on Quality of Software Architectures
Copyright Statement
© ACM 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the 11th International ACM SIGSOFT Conference on Quality of Software Architectures, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2737182.2737187
Source
11th International ACM SIGSOFT Conference on Quality of Software Architectures
Publication Status
Published
Start Date
2015-05-04
Finish Date
2015-05-08
Coverage Spatial
Montréal, QC, Canada