Dynamic adaptive virtual core mapping to improve power, energy, and performance in multi-socket multicores

Consider a multithreaded parallel application running inside a multicore virtual machine context that is itself hosted on a multi-socket multicore physical machine. How should the VMM map virtual cores to physical cores? We compare a local mapping, which compacts virtual cores to processor sockets, and an interleaved mapping, which spreads them over the sockets. Simply choosing between these two mappings exposes clear tradeoffs between performance, energy, and power. We then describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a system that automatically and dynamically chooses between the two mappings. The system consists of a set of efficient online VMM-based mechanisms and policies that (a) capture the relevant characteristics of memory reference behavior, (b) provide a policy and mechanism for configuring the mapping of virtual machine cores to physical cores that optimizes for power, energy, or performance, and (c) drive dynamic migrations of virtual cores among local physica...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2012
• Where: HPDC
• Authors: Chang Bae, Lei Xia, Peter A. Dinda, John R. Lange
• Keywords: Distributed And Parallel Computing, HPDC 2012, National Science Foundation, Processor Sockets, Software Process Management