R2: An Application-Level Kernel for Record and Replay

Library-based record and replay tools aim to reproduce an application's execution by recording the results of selected functions in a log and during replay returning the results from the log rather than executing the functions. These tools must ensure that a replay run is identical to the record run. The challenge in doing so is that only invocations of a function by the application should be recorded, recording the side effects of a function call can be difficult, and not executing function calls during replay, multithreading, and the presence of the tool may change the application's behavior from recording to replay. These problems have limited the use of such tools. R2 allows developers to choose functions that can be recorded and replayed correctly. Developers annotate the chosen functions with simple keywords so that R2 can handle calls with side effects and multithreading. R2 generates code for record and replay from templates, allowing developers to avoid implementing...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: OSDI
• Authors: Zhenyu Guo, Xi Wang, Jian Tang, Xuezheng Liu, Zhilei Xu, Ming Wu, M. Frans Kaashoek, Zheng Zhang
• Keywords: Operating System, OSDI 2008, Recording Overhead, Replay Run, Replay Tools