I/O resource management through system call scheduling

A principal challenge in operating system design is controlling system throughput and responsiveness while maximizing resource utilization. Unlike previous attempts in kernel resource management, which often involve non-trivial changes in kernel subsystems, we focus on the kernel's edge. System calls are usually the default mechanism for user processes to get access to operating system services. System calls can therefore be used to control throughput and responsiveness and thus also affect resource utilization directly. We propose a simple, non-intrusive kernel-space mechanism for explicit, per-process system call scheduling already at kernel entry in order to control the time and rate at which system calls are executed, and, as a result, the per-process utilization of the involved resources. We have developed a highperformance Linux 2.6 kernel patch with SMP support that implements system call scheduling for network- and diskrelated I/O calls with policies that resemble traffic...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: SIGOPS
• Authors: Silviu S. Craciunas, Christoph M. Kirsch, Harald Röck
• Keywords: Kernel Subsystems, Operating System, Resource Utilization, SIGOPS 2008