|
INFORMATION |
The
18th IASTED International Conference on
PARALLEL AND DISTRIBUTED
COMPUTING AND SYSTEMS
~ PDCS 2006 ~
November 13 – 15, 2006
Dallas, Texas, USA
Tutorial
Session
Parallel
and Distributed
Embedded/Real-Time Systems
Albert M. K. Cheng
Real-Time Systems Laboratory
University of Houston
cheng@cs.uh.edu
Abstract
Real-time or embedded computer systems must satisfy stringent
response time constraints in addition to logical correctness
constraints. Parallel and distributed computer systems research
and development has produced systems capable of attaining
very high performance in terms of speed and versatility
at very attractive cost-to-speed ratio. Furthermore, the
approach of parallel and distributed computing is a natural
way to surpass the limiting device technology in conventional
uniprocessor systems.
Recently, parallel
and distributed systems are emerging as a highly promising
candidate for implementing the next generation of high-performance
embedded real-time systems which are adaptive to the rapidly
changing environment. However, “fast” does not
necessarily mean “real-time.” Therefore, parallel
and distributed systems must be fine-tuned before they can
be trusted to monitor and control critical real-time processes.
The correctness
of many systems depends not only on the effects or results
they produce, but also on the time at which these results
are produced. These realtime systems range from the anti-lock
braking controller in automobiles to the vital-sign monitor
in hospital intensive-care units. For example, when the
driver of a car applies the brake, the anti-lock braking
controller analyzes the environment in which the controller
is embedded (car speed, road surface, direction of travel)
and activates the brake with the appropriate frequency within
fractions of a second. Both the result (brake activation)
and the time at which the result is produced are important
in ensuring the safety of the car, its driver and passengers.
Recently, computer
hardware and software are increasingly embedded in a majority
of these real-time systems to monitor and control their
operations. Unlike conventional, non-real-time computer
systems, embedded real-time computer systems are closely
coupled with the environment being monitored and controlled.
Examples of these real-time systems include medical monitors,
airplane and spacecraft avionics, network/telephone switching
systems, multimedia/virtual reality systems, robotic controllers,
and many safety-critical applications. These embedded systems
must satisfy timing and reliability constraints in addition
to functional correctness requirements.
This tutorial covers the following topics:
- Introduction
to parallel and distributed real-time systems;
- Formal specification
methodology and requirements analysis;
- Analysis
tools for performance evaluation;
- System decomposition
and multiprocessor scheduling techniques;
- Development
tools (Wind River Tornado);
- Parallel and
distributed real-time operating systems (Wind River VxWorks
and QNX Neutrino);
- Formal analysis,
verification, and validation techniques;
- Power-aware
and fault-tolerant systems;
- Worst-case
execution time (WCET) analysis;
- Optimization
and synthesis; and
- Case studies
of actual systems (such as the timing analysis of the
X-38 Space Station Crew Return Vehicle Avionics consisting
of a fault-tolerant distributed system of a network of
of PowerPC processors).
Background
Knowledge of the Participants
This tutorial is for anyone interested in the state-of-the-art
technology for developing parallel and distributed real-time
systems for monitoring, control, and decision making. Knowledge
of basic operating systems and architecture concepts are
assumed. The
duration is half-day.
Biography
Albert
M. K. Cheng received the B.A. with Highest Honors
(Phi Beta Kappa) in Computer Science, the M.S. in Computer
Science with a minor in Electrical Engineering, and the
Ph.D. in Computer Science, all from The University of Texas
at Austin, where he held a GTE Foundation Doctoral Fellowship.
Dr. Cheng is currently a tenured Associate Professor in
the Department of Computer Science at the University of
Houston, where he is the founding Director of the Real-
Time Systems Laboratory. He has served as a technical consultant
for several organizations, including IBM, and was a visiting
faculty at Rice University (2000) and at the City University
of Hong Kong (1995).
Dr. Cheng has authored/coauthored over 100 refereed publications.
He has been invited to present seminars, tutorials, and
keynotes at over 60 conferences and organizations. He was
an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Software
Engineering (1998-2003), and is an Associate Editor of the
Journal of Embedded Systems and the Journal of Computer
and Information Science.
He is the Program Chair of the 2006 IASTED International
Conference on Software Engineering Applications (SEA), and
was the WIP Program Chair of the 2005 and 2001 IEEE Real-Time
and Embedded technology and Applications Symposium (RTAS)
and the 2003 IEEE Real-Time Systems Symposium (RTSS). He
is and has been on the program committees of over 100 conferences.
Dr. Cheng is an Honorary Member of the INSTICC and is a
Senior Member of the IEEE.
Reference: Albert M. K. Cheng, Real-Time
Systems: Scheduling, Analysis, and Verification (John Wiley
& Sons), 2002. Second printing with updates, 2005.
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