A middleware design for large-scale clusters offering multiple services

We present a decentralized design that dynamically allocates resources to multiple services inside a global server cluster. The design supports QoS objectives (maximum response time and maximum loss rate) for each service. A system administrator can modify policies that assign relative importance to services and, in this way, control the resource allocation process. Distinctive features of our design are the use of an epidemic protocol to disseminate state and control information, as well as the decentralized evaluation of utility functions to control resource partitioning among services. Simulation results show that the system operates both effectively and efficiently; it meets the QoS objectives and dynamically adapts to load changes and to failures. In case of overload, the service quality degrades gracefully, controlled by the cluster policies.