The network weather service: a distributed resource performance forecasting service for metacomputing

Abstract

The goal of the Network Weather Service is to provide accurate forecasts of dynamically changing performance characteristics from a distributed set of metacomputing resources. Providing a ubiquitous service that can both track dynamic performance changes and remain stable in spite of them requires adaptive programming techniques, an architectural design that supports extensibility, and internal abstractions that can be implemented efficiently and portably. In this paper, we describe the current implementation of the NWS for Unix and TCP/IP sockets and provide examples of its performance monitoring and forecasting capabilities.