Design of the VAX Instrumentation Package (VIP).
Abstract
This report describes the design of the VAX Instrumentation Package (VIP). The target machine initially is the VAX 11/780 running under the Unix operating system at the Computer Science Department of the University of Maryland. VIP is a software monitor of VAX performance. It is designed as an aid for system monitoring, system tuning, and system modeling. For example, VIP monitors the request rate of system files. If the request rate of a particular file becomes high, the system may be 'tuned' by making the file resident in main memory. Specific parameters of the file (e.g., the average number of words transferred per file request) may be used in a queueing network model of the system to predict the performance impact of making the file resident in main memory. A major motivation for VIP is collecting parametric values for, and providing validation of, system models of the VAX. In the past few years, sophisticated and powerful modeling techniques have been developed. A major problem in the application of these techniques is that actual systems do not monitor those input parameters that are necessary for the application of the modeling techniques. Furthermore, these modeling techniques typically provide performance measures which are more extensive than are usually measured. Validation, as well as the construction of accurate models, is thus a difficult problem.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA100129
Entities
People
- B. G. Labaw
- J. N. Reed
- Lawrence W. Dowdy
- W. S. Freeze
Organizations
- University of Maryland