Abstract A new software technology for on‐line performance analysis and the visualization of complex parallel and distributed systems is presented. Often heterogeneous, these systems need capabilities for the flexible integration and configuration of performance analysis and visualization. Our technology is based on an object‐oriented framework for the rapid prototyping and development of distributable visual objects. The visual objects consist of two levels, a platform/device‐specific low level and an analysis‐ and visualization‐specific high level. We have developed a very high‐level markup language called VOML and a compiler for the component‐based development of high‐level visual objects. The VOML is based on a software architecture for on‐line event processing and performance visualization called EPIRA. The technology lends itself to constructing high‐level visual objects from globally distributed component definitions. Details of the technology and tools used, as well as how an example visual object can be rapidly prototyped from several reusable components, are presented. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Emerging parallel or distributed heterogeneous real-time computer systems with many disparate constraints and requirements would benefit from a unifying and comprehensive systems engineering support in the design, testing and deployment phases, which interfaces with a human at a very high level and efficiently handles the system complexity. We present an approach to integration of: a compiler and constraint logic programming-based approach to design and engineering of complex real-time systems; and an online performance analysis and visualization technology with steering. An example distributed real-time system is used to help describe the integrated approach. Details are presented about how the involved technologies are used to help system developers and users achieve better system performance through on-line repair and reconfiguration.

Researchers and practitioners in the area of parallel and distributed computing have been lacking a portable, flexible and robust distributed instrumentation system. This paper presents the reference implementation of Baseline Reduced Instrumentation System Kernel (BRISK). BRISK was developed as a part of a realtime system instrumentation and performance visualization project. The design is based on a simple distributed instrumentation system model for flexibility and extensibility. The basic implementation poses minimalistic system requirements and achieves high performance. The paper also shows evaluations of BRISK on both basic and advanced configurations. The first evaluation emphasizes local, simple performance metrics; and the second highlights aggregate performance, built-in clock synchronization and dynamic on-line sorting. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We present a compiler-based approach to the design and engineering of complex real-time systems. The systems are built from computation, communication and I/O subsystems, based on different extant real-time models and schemes. We have defined a high-level system specification language, called Real-Time System Markup Language (RTSML), for integration of model-specific subsystems. We have developed a prototype extensible compiler from RTSML to a Constraint Logic Programming (CLP) language. Model-specific compiler modules can be added that generate CLP code for subsystems based on the corresponding real-time models and schemes, and their integration with other subsystems of a complex real-time system being specified. We specify an example system consisting of dozens of communicating real-time tasks that share real-time computation and communication resources, and map it to two problem solving approaches. The first one is the conventional CLP search, while the second one is suitable for system reconfiguration when system parameters change dynamically. We compare the two approaches and present their timings for the example system. Based on the results obtained, and potentials of the software technologies used in our compiler-based approach, it appears promising for large-scale complex real-time systems.