xTune: A Formal Methodology for Cross-layer Tuning

of Mobile Real-time Embedded Systems

 

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Resource limited mobile real-time embedded systems can benefit greatly from dynamic

adaptation of system parameters. This thesis proposes a novel framework,

xTune, that employs iterative tuning using light-weight formal verification at runtime

with feedback for dynamic adaptation of mobile real-time embedded systems.

One objective of this approach is to enable tradeoff analysis across multiple layers of

abstraction (for example, application, middleware, operating system) and predict the

possible property violations as the system evolves dynamically over time. Specifically,

an executable formal specification is developed for each layer of the mobile real-time

system under consideration. The formal specification is then analyzed using statistical

model checking and statistical quantitative analysis, to determine the impact of

various resource management policies for achieving a variety of end-to-end properties

in a quantifiable manner. The integration of formal analysis with dynamic behavior

from system execution results in a feedback loop that enables model refinement and

further optimization of policies and parameters. Finally, we propose a composition

method for coordinated interaction of optimizers at different abstraction layers. The

core idea of our approach is that each participating optimizer can restrict its own parameters

and exchange refined parameters with its associated layers. We demonstrate

the applicability of the proposed methodology to the adaptive provisioning of mobile

real-time embedded systems through a multimedia case study on resource-limited

mobile devices.


Last modified: Jan/15/2009