Portable library of migratable sockets

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Bubak, Marian^; | Żbik, Dariusz^; | Albada, Dick van | Iskra, Kamil | Sloot, Peter

Affiliations: Institute of Computer Science, AGH, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland | Academic Computer Centre -- CYFRONET, Nawojki 11, 30-950 Kraków, Poland | Informatics Institute, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands | School of Banking and Manageament in Cracow, Kijowska 14, 30-079 Kraków, Poland

Note: [] Corresponding author: Marian Bubak, Institute of Computer Science, AGH, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland. Tel.: +48 12 617 39 64; Fax: +48 12 633 80 54; E-mail: bubak@uci.agh.edu.pl

Abstract: Efficient load balancing is essential for parallel distributed computing. Many parallel computing environments use {\tt TCP} or {\tt UDP} through the socket interface as a communication mechanism. This paper presents the design and development of a prototype implementation of a network interface that can preserve communication between processes during process migration. This new communication library is a substitution for the well-known socket interface. It is implemented in user -- space; it is portable, and no modifications of user applications are required. {\tt TCP/IP} is applied for internal communication, which guarantees relatively high performance and portability.

Keywords: distributed computing, load balancing, process migration, {\tt Dynamite}, sockets

Journal: Scientific Programming, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 211-222, 2001