Checkpointing in distributed computing systems

This paper examines the performance of synchronous check-pointing in a distributed computing environment with and without load redistribution. Performance models are developed, and optimum checkpoint intervals are determined. The analysis extends earlier work by allowing for multiple nodes, state-dependent checkpoint intervals, and a performance metric which is coupled with failure-free performance and the speedup functions associated with implementation of parallel algorithms. The analytic results for synchronous checkpointing without load redistribution are compared to measurements of a synthetic parallel algorithm with user-level checkpointing. Expressions for the optimum checkpoint intervals for synchronous checkpointing with and without load redistribution are used to determine when load redistribution is advantageous. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.