Performance Modeling and Engineering

With the fast development of networking and software technologies, information processing infrastructure and applications have been growing at an impressive rate in both size and complexity, to such a degree that the design and development of high performance and scalable data processing systems and networks have become an ever-challenging issue. As a result, the use of performance modeling and m- surementtechniquesas a critical step in designand developmenthas becomea c- mon practice. Research and developmenton methodologyand tools of performance modeling and performance engineering have gained further importance in order to improve the performance and scalability of these systems. Since the seminal work of A. K. Erlang almost a century ago on the mod- ing of telephone traf c, performance modeling and measurement have grown into a discipline and have been evolving both in their methodologies and in the areas in which they are applied. It is noteworthy that various mathematical techniques were brought into this eld, including in particular probability theory, stochastic processes, statistics, complex analysis, stochastic calculus, stochastic comparison, optimization, control theory, machine learning and information theory. The app- cation areas extended from telephone networks to Internet and Web applications, from computer systems to computer software, from manufacturing systems to s- ply chain, from call centers to workforce management.

This book presents the latest advances in methodology and techniques of performance modeling and engineering, ranging from theoretical advances to system and architecture developments, from technology to economics, from academic innovations to engineering processes, from statistical analysis to system control, and from enterprise systems to computer networks. The collection promotes innovative research in these emerging topics, bridging the gap between theory and practice, and stimulating the use of these new developments.

Part I focuses on performance design and engineering, introducing new methodologies and considerations including machine learning, network economics, online advertising and performance engineering. Part II concentrates on scheduling and control, covering new developments in Internet traffic routing, network scheduling, and modeling and control of computer systems. Each chapter is self-contained, including both a broad survey of the topic and the technical challenges and solutions.

Specific topics addressed include:

• reduction techniques that transform practical problems into well-studied machine learning problems, which can then be solved using existing base-learning algorithms

• Performance Engineering and Management Method (PEMM), which addresses the risks related to information technology performance, capacity and scalability

• economic models of communication and the importance of the economic impact on design choices

• the auction system for sponsored search advertising, including the mathematical and algorithmic issues and the challenges involved

• oblivious routing of Internet traffic, encompassing the deployment, performance guarantee, and various routing architecture and protocol issues in today’sInternet

• design methods and analysis techniques of distributed scheduling algorithms in networks

• state-of-the-art insights into the application of control theory and optimization techniques on computer systems and computer networks

Performance Modeling and Engineering provides new perspectives and establishes a connection between market mechanisms and Internet applications. Researchers in performance and evaluation and networking and systems will find that this book provides them with an understanding of both theoretical and practical issues, and allows them to develop both mathematical frameworks and engineering processes.