Optimization of checkpointing-related I/O for high-performance parallel and distributed computing

Checkpointing, the process of saving program/application state, usually to a stable storage, has been the most common fault-tolerance methodology for high-performance applications. The rate of checkpointing (how often) is primarily driven by the failure rate of the system. If the checkpointing rate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of supercomputing Vol. 46; no. 2; pp. 150 - 180
Main Authors: Subramaniyan, Rajagopal, Grobelny, Eric, Studham, Scott, George, Alan D.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Boston Springer US 01.11.2008
Subjects:
Checkpointing
Compilers
Computer Science
Consumption
Failure rates
Fault tolerance
GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
Interpreters
Mathematical analysis
OPTIMIZATION
PARALLEL PROCESSING
Processor Architectures
Programming Languages
SIMULATION
SPECIFICATIONS
STORAGE
Strikes
SUPERCOMPUTERS
TOLERANCE
Checkpointing
Fault tolerance
Supercomputing
Parallel computing
High-performance computing
Technology growth
Modeling
Distributed computing
ISSN:0920-8542, 1573-0484
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Checkpointing, the process of saving program/application state, usually to a stable storage, has been the most common fault-tolerance methodology for high-performance applications. The rate of checkpointing (how often) is primarily driven by the failure rate of the system. If the checkpointing rate is low, fewer resources are consumed but the chance of high computational loss is increased and vice versa if the checkpointing rate is high. It is important to strike a balance, and an optimum rate of checkpointing is required. In this paper, we analytically model the process of checkpointing in terms of mean-time-between-failure of the system, amount of memory being checkpointed, sustainable I/O bandwidth to the stable storage, and frequency of checkpointing. We identify the optimum frequency of checkpointing to be used on systems with given specifications thereby making way for efficient use of available resources and maximum performance of the system without compromising on the fault-tolerance aspects. Further, we develop discrete-event models simulating the checkpointing process to verify the analytical model for optimum checkpointing. Using the analytical model, we also investigate the optimum rate of checkpointing for systems of varying resource levels ranging from small embedded cluster systems to large supercomputers.
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USDOE
DE-AC05-00OR22725
ISSN:0920-8542
1573-0484
DOI:10.1007/s11227-007-0162-0