Configuration Management Research Articles

Versatile software-defined HPC and cloud clusters on Alps supercomputer for diverse workflows

Supercomputers have been driving innovations for performance and scaling benefiting several scientific applications for the past few decades. Yet their ecosystems remain virtually unchanged when it comes to integrating distributed data-driven workflows, primarily due to rather rigid access methods and restricted configuration management options. X-as-a-Service model of cloud has introduced, among other features, a developer-centric DevOps approach empowering developers of infrastructure, platform to software artefacts, which, unfortunately contemporary supercomputers still lack. We introduce vClusters (versatile software-defined clusters), which is based on Infrastructure-as-code (IaC) technology. vClusters approach is a unique fusion of HPC and cloud technologies resulting in a software-defined, multi-tenant cluster on a supercomputing ecosystem, that, together with software-defined storage, enable DevOps for complex, data-driven workflows like grid middleware, alongside a classic HPC platform. IaC has been a commonplace in cloud computing, however, it lacked adoption within multi-Petascale ecosystems due to concerns related to performance and interoperability with classic HPC data centres’ ecosystems. We present an overview of the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre’s flagship Alps ecosystem as an implementation target for vClusters for HPC and data-driven workflows. Alps is based on the Cray-HPE Shasta EX supercomputing platform that includes an IaC compliant, microservices architecture (MSA) management system, which we leverage for demonstrating vClusters usage for our diverse operational workflows. We provide implementation details of two operational vClusters platforms: a classic HPC platform that is used predominantly by hundreds of users running thousands of large-scale numerical simulations batch jobs; and a widely used, data-intensive, Grid computing middleware platform used for CERN Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) operations. The resulting solution showcases reuse and reduction of common configuration recipes across vCluster implementations, minimising operational change management overheads while introducing flexibility for managing artefacts for DevOps required by diverse workflows.

РОЗВИТОК СТАНДАРТІВ З УПРАВЛІННЯ ПРОЄКТАМИ: МІЖНАРОДНИЙ ДОСВІД

The article examines the main international standards for quality management and configuration management in projects. The most widespread standards were analyzed, namely: PMBOK (A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge) – a body of knowledge on project management, developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI); ISO standards (ISO 10006:1997 Quality management – Guidelines to quality in project management – standard for quality in project management, ISO 21500:2012 Guidance on project management – standard for project management, ISO 21500:2021 Project, program and portfolio management – Context and concepts – the main profile standard, which is a comprehensive guide to the use of the ISO 21500 series of standards); Prince 2 and PRINCE 2 Agile – a standard method of effective project management developed by the CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency); IPMA - standards of the International Project Management Association. International Project Management Association; OPM 3 (Organization Project Management Maturity Model) – a model of Organizational Project Management Maturity; P2M (from Project and Program Management for Enterprise Innovation) is a Japanese approach to managing complex projects of implementing innovative technologies at the enterprise level in an unstable environment. An analysis of the evolution of PMBOK international standards from the 1st edition of 1996 to the 7th edition of 2021 was carried out, which was characterized in detail and presented the relationship between project management principles and areas of project effectiveness according to PMBOK 7th edition. ISO standards are considered and the main ones related to project management are characterized. The standard method of effective management of Prince 2 and PRINCE 2 Agile projects is studied and the main principles on which they are based are given. The main evolutionary transformations of the IPMA standard from 1965 to 2015 are characterized. Appropriate conclusions have been drawn.

Assessment of soil vulnerability to erosion in different land surface configurations and management practices under semi-arid monsoon climate

Soil erosion leads to reduction in land productivity. Concentrated rainfall under monsoon climate increases the erosion vulnerability of poor soils of semiarid regions. Soil vulnerability is the response to impact of slope and land management practices. Assessment of soil vulnerability to soil erosion is crucial for devising an effective soil conservation plan. Therefore, a 7-year long experiment has been initiated for assessing vulnerability to soil erosion for a sandy loam soil using Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) as the test crop in a typical semiarid monsoon climate. In case of runoff, samples were collected and measured every 24 h. These samples were analyzed for sediment, clay, organic carbon (OC), and nitrogen content. A positive linear relation between rainfall and runoff at 2% slope (R2: 0.58–0.72), curvilinear relation at higher slope (R2: 0.81–0.86), and positive linear relationship between runoff and soil loss (R2: 0.47–0.64) were observed. An increase in slope length from 11 to 66 m increased runoff and soil loss by 1.62 times and 1.72 times, respectively. Similarly, an increase in slope steepness from 2% to 9% increased runoff and soil loss by 1.84 times and 3.84 times, respectively. In response to the 56.4% of the total rainfall received, the contribution of runoff and soil loss during the initial 30 days of the crop growing period to the total runoff and soil loss was 68–74% and 80–90% respectively. Sediments were enriched with organic carbon (1.62–3.12) and clay content (1.14–1.55), however, enrichment ratios reduced with the increase in slope. The total loss of nitrogen through erosion had a positive correlation with the sediment loss. Manure and mineral fertilizer application in pearl millet reduced the mean seasonal runoff by 14.4–24.8% and soil loss by 22.7–32.6%. Under bare soil conditions, application of manure and fertilizers reduced runoff by 6.4–8.7% and soil loss by 6.5–7.8%. The knowledge derived from this study can thus improve our understanding of hydrological responses and erosion process of both land configuration and land management practices. The data generated in the study is an important starting point to develop concepts for better management and effective mitigation of land degradation. The findings also suggest the need of initial soil cover, minimum soil disturbance at steeper slope (>3%) and need of conservation measures even on the milder slope (≤ 3%).

Декомпозиция процессов управления данными в CMDB

Purpose: Data decomposition and classification development for the management of telecommunication network configurations and for the formation of such data management process set with the use of special database which basis on, the formation of requirements for database subsystem projection given the consistency of data about a control object and the system capabilities for this object management. Systematization of configuration data, of configuration element attributes as well as their logical consistency with the processes of the control and management of a state in promising management system subsystems. Methods: Fundamentals of complex process management theory, information storage and presentation system theory, object-oriented projection methods, decomposition method for representing process logic and data analysis about control object as well as theoretic-set approach for describing data set. Results: Decomposition of the tasks has been obtained which are realized by the components of telecommunication network configuration management special database; data sets about configuration elements have been formed. The requirements for promising control system subsystem that embodies the functionality of special database for telecommunications network configuration element management have been presented. Trends for further research in the direction to develop algorithms and models of telecommunication network configuration management with the help of special database have been proposed. Practical significance: The obtained decomposition and classification of data for telecommunication network configuration management is characterized by unique approach and dedication to telecommunication network management system subsystem logical structure, required for promising projection, as well as allows to formulate requirements for modeling the processes of telecommunication network configuration element management.

A novel pedestrian road crossing simulator for dynamic traffic light scheduling systems

The major advances in intelligent transportation systems are pushing societal services toward autonomy where road management is to be more agile in order to cope with changes and continue to yield optimal performance. However, the pedestrian experience is not sufficiently considered. Particularly, signalized intersections are expected to be popular if not dominant in urban settings where pedestrian density is high. This paper presents the design of a novel environment for simulating human motion on signalized crosswalks at a fine-grained level. Such a simulation not only captures typical behavior, but also handles cases where large pedestrian groups cross from both directions. The proposed simulator is instrumental for optimized road configuration management where the pedestrians’ quality of experience, for example, waiting time, is factored in. The validation results using field data show that an accuracy of 98.37% can be obtained for the estimated crossing time. Other results using synthetic data show that our simulator enables optimized traffic light scheduling that diminishes pedestrians’ waiting time without sacrificing vehicular throughput.

Configuration Management for Model Based Systems Engineering — An Example from the Aerospace Industry

ABSTRACTModel‐based systems engineering approach is increasingly used to manage the complexity of modern systems and to reduce costs of their development. In the aerospace industry, modelling and simulation is not only a cost‐effective verification and validation strategy where test rigs and flight tests are far more expensive but also is increasingly used in the certification process. Nevertheless, as with any digital artefact, if the models aren't configured and traceability isn't assured, then the models are not of much use. Configuration management comes into play as a key discipline to enable the use and maintenance of the models. This paper explores the use of configuration management for modelling and simulation in an aerospace setting, with a specific example involving landing gear and its surrounding systems.

Blockchain-Based Decentralized Architecture for Software Version Control

Version control is an important component of configuration management, and most enterprise-level software uses different tools and technologies to manage the software version control such as CVS, Subversion, or Perforce. Following the success of bitcoin, the first practical application of blockchain, it is being implemented in other fields such as healthcare, supply chains, financial management, real estate, electoral systems, and so on. Blockchain’s core features include decentralization, immutability, and interminability. Most version control repositories are centralized and can be modified by external sources, implying that they are in danger of being corrupted or controlled. In this study, we present the BDA-SCV architecture for implementing a version control system in blockchain technology. Our proposed approach would replace the necessity for a centralized system, with a decentralized approach implemented in the blockchain using distributed file storage, for which we will use the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), which is a distributed file system. The proof of authority (PoA) consensus algorithm will be used to approve the developer communicating modifications to the private blockchain network; the authority will only provide permission and will not be able to add, edit, or delete code files. For each change, a ledger block will be created with a reference to the file stored in the distributed repository. A block cannot be manipulated once it has been created. Smart contracts will be used to register developers, create blocks, and manage the repository. The suggested model is implemented using the Hyperledger Fabric network, and the developer and authorizer ends are built into the dotnet web application.

On automating network systems configuration management

In nowadays, communications are expanding in very high rates. New technologies are being born and some of them are taking so much importance in people’s lives. In a situation where people’s needs are getting more complicated and everybody’s lifestyle is advancing to another level, bigger and better infrastructure is needed. Managing all this process can’t be anymore a step by step process. It is strictly needed to evolve in automated process. Network configuration and reconfiguration may be a repetitive process, time consuming, and error prone process. To address this problem this paper is going to shed light on the benefits of an automated configuration and topology verification process. To this end, a proof of concept system, Netmiko, has been used in a case study. Netmiko scripts are able to read the current network state, can apply predefined configurations loaded from text-files or csv files, and automatically verify the network state. The goals of this paper are to demonstrate the development of Netmiko scripts, to illustrate thesimplicity in the implementation, to compare the automated network system reconfiguration to a fully manual one, and, finally, to discuss potential pros and cons in switching to an automated network configuration process in everyday practice. A simple Packet Tracer simulation in joint with a GNS3 simulation are involved to evaluate this proof of concept. In Packet tracer a manual network configuration is performed while in GNS3 an automated network configuration is developed.

Policy-Based Holistic Application Management with BPMN and TOSCA

With the wide adoption of cloud computing across technology industries and research institutions, an ever-growing interest in cloud orchestration frameworks has emerged over the past few years. These orchestration frameworks enable the automated provisioning and decommissioning of cloud applications in a timely and efficient manner, but they offer limited or no support for application management. While management functionalities, such as configuring, monitoring and scaling single components, can be directly covered by cloud providers and configuration management tools, holistic management features, such as backing up, testing and updating multiple components, cannot be automated using these approaches. In this paper, we propose a concept to automatically generate executable holistic management workflows based on the TOSCA standard. The practical feasibility of the approach is validated through a prototype implementation and a case study.

The interplay of knowledge management, operational and dynamic capabilities in project phases

PurposeProject delivery organizations (PDO) have to develop competitive advantage against new entrants. This study aims to explore the knowledge conversion transactions proposed by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) in project phases through the interplay of dynamic and operational capabilities. This study is based on a case study for a PDO in the engineering industry.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes a model of dynamics between the constructs, and its illustration with a case study of a PDO. The research extends the socialization, externalization, combination and internalization (SECI) model of knowledge management (KM).FindingsThis study provides an overview of existing research related to the constructs like applicability of operational and dynamic capabilities, knowledge configuration and knowledge management processes to individual projects delivered by a PDO for its clients. Further, this study provides an overview of the knowledge configuration adopted by an organization and how it helps to build the competitive advantage of an organization.Research limitations/implicationsThis study proposes a model for applying the constructs to each of the phases of a project. It then illustrates the knowledge value chain in a PDO in the field of engineering projects with detailed insights into the steps of sensing, seizing and sharing knowledge across the project life cycle.Practical implicationsProject-based firms can use the learnings and create their own SECI model linking the conceptual model of KM and PDO and KM value chain.Social implicationsIn social projects implementation, this conceptual model and process will be helpful in building efficiency and effectiveness.Originality/valueThis case study presents the knowledge value chain in a PDO in the field of engineering projects with detailed insights into the steps of sensing, seizing and sharing knowledge across the project life cycle.

The relationship between fire severity and burning efficiency for estimating wildfire emissions in Mediterranean forests

AbstractForests are exposed to changing climatic conditions reflected by increasing drought and heat waves that increase the risk of wildfire ignition and spread. Climatic variables such as rain and wind as well as vegetation structure, land configuration and forest management practices are all factors that determine the burning potential of wildfires. The assessment of emissions released by vegetation combustion is essential for determining greenhouse gases and air pollutants. The estimation of wildfire-related emissions depends on factors such as the type and fraction of fuel (i.e., live biomass, ground litter, dead wood) consumed by the fire in a given area, termed the burning efficiency. Most approaches estimate live burning efficiency from optical remote sensing data. This study used a data-driven method to estimate live burning efficiency in a Mediterranean area. Burning severity estimations from Landsat imagery (dNBR), which relate to fuel consumption, and quantitative field data from three national forest inventory data were combined to establish the relationship between burning severity and live burning efficiency. Several proxies explored these relationships based on dNBR interval classes, as well as regression models. The correlation results between live burning efficiency and dNBR for conifers (R = 0.63) and broad-leaved vegetation (R = 0.95) indicated ways for improving emissions estimations. Median estimations by severity class (low, moderate-low, moderate-high, and high) are provided for conifers (0 .44 − 0.81) and broad-leaves (0.64 − 0.86), and regression models for the live fraction of the tree canopy susceptible to burning (< 2 cm, 2 − 7 cm, > 7 branches, and leaves). The live burning efficiency values by severity class were higher than previous studies.

Traceable Multi-view Model Integration: A Transformation Pipeline for Agile Production Systems Engineering

Purpose.Agile Production Systems Engineering (PSE) is characterised by parallel and iterative engineering of several disciplines. This multi-view engineering requires capabilities for tracing changes to support configuration management of PSE assets. Yet, traditional model transformation approaches in PSE do not preserve local views and hierarchies on concepts of PSE assets, such as plans and configurations. Thus, tracing multi-view changes to PSE assets is challenging.Method.Following the Design Science approach, we (i) elicit requirements for tracing multi-view changes to PSE assets from a domain analysis in automotive manufacturing; (ii) introduce and evaluate the Traceable Multi-view Model Transformation (TMvMT) process; and (iii) propose the TMvMT pipeline architecture to provide traceable model integration capabilities for agile PSE.Results.In a feasibility study on robot cell models, we evaluate the TMvMT process and architecture regarding the requirements for traceability compared to traditional approaches.Conclusion.The proposed TMvMT approach provides traceability of changes in multi-view modelling as a basis through the separation of modelling transformation steps and provision of clear input and output artefacts to achieve traceable configuration management and validation of system designs for production system assets in agile PSE.

DATA WAREHOUSE MODEL BASED ON KIMBALL METHODOLOGY TO SUPPORT DECISION MAKING IN ASSET MAINTENANCE

ITSM e-Prime is an ICT service management application based on ITSM framework owned by Pusintek that includes service desk, incident management, problem management, change management, release management, and configuration management processes. Currently there is a problem in determining the number of devices that will be included in the device maintenance contract or determining the number of devices that need to be replaced in a given year. The objective of this research is to build an asset management data warehouse so that it can be utilized by the Data Analysis and Presentation Team to produce a dashboard that presents data on network infrastructure assets that need to be maintained or replaced for budget planning needs. This descriptive verification analysis research used nine out of ninety tables from the ITSM e-Prime application and applied dimensional modeling Kimball to build a data warehouse because this methodology offers high query performance and understandable by end-user. The resulting data warehouse were tables in the form of star-schema. The tests were carried out by qualitative methods, namely quality testing by users (user acceptance test and blackbox testing) and quantitative method, namely comparing the number of infrastructure devices included in the maintenance contract in 2022. The final result of this research is a data warehouse consisting of fact table F_infrastructure and dimension table D_Merk, D_Area, D_Kategori, D_EoS, D_Garansi, and D_StatusPemeliharaan with acceptance percentage of 95% based on the test results.

Configuration Information System for online processing and data monitoring in the NICA experiments

The collection, storage and processing of experimental data are an integral part of modern high-energy physics experiments. The Configuration Information System (CIS) based on the Configuration Database (ConfigDb) is an essential element of a complex of information systems developed for the NICA experiments. The CIS is used to store and provide data on the configuration of the experiment hardware and software systems when collecting data from the detectors in online mode. The ConfigDb stores both a set of various configuration parameters and descriptions of a sequence of online software tasks to be started and run during experiment sessions. The system allows loading configuration information, activating hardware setups and launching all necessary software applications with the required parameters on the specified distributed nodes. The CIS architecture mainly contains the ConfigDb and Configuration Manager, which uses the Dynamic Deployment System API for managing tasks and providing intercommunication. The manager loads configuration data from the database, starts software tasks in a described sequence and supports task process management. The client-server architecture of the CIS is presented. The client has been implemented as a Web service to manage configuration parameters by users.

Joint Optimization of Configuration, Component Sizing, and Energy Management for Input-Split Hybrid Powertrains

Configuration design, component sizing, and energy management are intertwined. However, the full potential of hybrid powertrains has not yet been thoroughly investigated due to the multi-dimensional design space. Therefore, in this paper, a joint optimization method combining particle swarm optimization (PSO) and convex programming (CP) is proposed for the first time. In the outer loop, the PSO algorithm searches for the optimal design for the powertrain configuration. In contrast, the component size and power management are simultaneously optimized by the CP algorithm in the inner loop. A combined driving cycle is designed to integrate both acceleration and energy-saving performance, where an extreme acceleration driving process is intended to act as the acceleration constraint. The results show that, compared to Prius 1st, the acceleration and total cost-saving of the optimal 1-PG (planetary gear) powertrain are improved by 13.09% and 11.08%, respectively. In particular, the acceleration and total cost-saving of the optimal 2-PG powertrain (MG2-RSG) are upgraded by 34.23% and 15.18%, respectively. Finally, the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method are verified by comparing it with dynamic programming (DP) and multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on the decomposition (MOEA/D) method.

Half-Power Prediction and Its Application on the Energy Management Strategy for Fuel Cell City Bus

The fuel cell hybrid powertrain is a potential power supply system for fuel cell vehicles. The underlying problem is that the fuel cell vehicles encounter exhaustive hydrogen consumption. To effectively manage hydrogen consumption, the aim is to propose fuel cell city bus power and control system. The underlying idea is to determine the target power of fuel cell through simulation study on fuel cell and battery energy management strategy and road test verifications. A half-power prediction energy management strategy is implemented to predict the target power of the fuel cell in the current time step based on the demand power of the vehicle and the state of charge (SOC) of the battery in the previous time steps. This offers better understanding of the correlation between fuel cell power and vehicle drive cycle for enabling effective power supply management. The research results show that the half-power prediction energy management strategy effectively reduces the hydrogen consumption of the vehicle by 7.1% and the number of battery cycle by 6.0%, compared to the stepped management strategy of battery SOC. When applied to a 12-m fuel cell city bus—F12, specially designed and manufactured for the Winter Olympic Games in 2022—the fuel economy of 3.7 kg/100 km is achieved in urban road conditions. This study lays a foundation for providing the powertrain configuration and energy management strategy of fuel cell city bus.

Virtualizing a Post-Moore’s Law Analog Mesh Processor: The Case of a Photonic PDE Accelerator

Innovative processor architectures aim to play a critical role in future sustainment of performance improvements under severe limitations imposed by the end of Moore’s Law. The Reconfigurable Optical Computer (ROC) is one such innovative, Post-Moore’s Law processor. ROC is designed to solve partial differential equations in one shot as opposed to existing solutions, which are based on costly iterative computations. This is achieved by leveraging physical properties of a mesh of optical components that behave analogously to lumped electrical components. However, virtualization is required to combat shortfalls of the accelerator hardware. Namely, (1) the infeasibility of building large photonic arrays to accommodate arbitrarily large problems and (2) underutilization brought about by mismatches in problem and accelerator mesh sizes due to future advances in manufacturing technology. In this work, we introduce an architecture and methodology for lightweight virtualization of ROC that exploits advantages borne from optical computing technology. Specifically, we apply temporal and spatial virtualization to ROC and then extend the accelerator scheduling tradespace with the introduction of spectral virtualization. Additionally, we investigate multiple resource scheduling strategies for a system-on-chip (SoC)-based PDE acceleration architecture and show that virtual configuration management offers a speedup of approximately 2×. Finally, we show that overhead from virtualization is minimal, and our experimental results show two orders of magnitude increased speed as compared to microprocessor execution while keeping errors due to virtualization under 10%.

Longitudinal velocity profile of flows in open channel with double-layered rigid vegetation

Aquatic vegetation of different heights is widely scattered in natural rivers and is conducive to their environmental function while affecting the flow hydrodynamic conditions. A semi-analytical velocity model is constructed and used to study the longitudinal velocity profile in open channel flow through double-layered rigid vegetation. The double-layered vegetation flow is separated into three zones according to the velocity profile: 1) nearly uniform distributed velocity zone 1A in the lower region of the short vegetation layer, 2) a mixing layer zone B, 3) uniform distributed velocity zone 2A in the upper region of the tall vegetation layer. Two force equilibrium equations about the gravity-driving and vegetation drag are solved to obtain the uniform velocity distribution equations in zone 1A and 2A. The velocity of zone 1A and B is further modeled as a linear superposition of two concepts: the uniform velocity distribution term of zone 1A and a hyperbolic tangent profile. Meanwhile, longitudinal velocity and the lateral vorticity profiles of open channel flow through double-layered rigid vegetation are studied by laboratory flume tests of different vegetation arrangements exposed to two water depths and three slopes. The experimental results show that the longitudinal velocity increases with the slope increase. The verification of the velocity model is based on the instantaneous velocity measured by Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (ADV), which shows acceptable agreement, indicating that the model can give a reference to the longitudinal velocity of multi-layered vegetation flow in some cases. The effects of wake vortices and boundary friction on the model are further explored in the discussions. The results presented in this study could contribute to the management of aquatic vegetation configurations and the restoration of freshwater ecology.

Lifecycle Management of Specialized Transport Infrastructure Software at the Stage of Long-Term Support

The article discusses the implementation of the approach of long-term maintenance of software for objects of geographically distributed transport infrastructure, including the space segment. This approach is presented in the logic of the life cycle model as a separate stage. The group of actions related to the provision of this stage is decomposed in the IDEF3 notation. Variants of diagrams of administrative workflow, configuration management and archive management have been developed. The resulting model streamlines and regulates activities that provide information support for the development project. The model allows you to identify the main processes and objects, identify the participants, and also decompose tasks in order to possibly obtain their temporal characteristics. It is possible to represent the hierarchical relationship of documents and components, expressed in the project configuration, as well as to express the logic of managing archives, that is, the results of developing specialized software.

Concept and implementation path for model-based impact analysis in product development

Engineers must evaluate the effects of changes in requirements during product design. Due to strongly linked design, production, and operation networks, these effects have tremendous consequences in cross-company engineering change and configuration management. Implications for development effort, the degree of fulfillment of requirements, functional costs, and follow-up costs in product variants and each system lifecycle stage (e.g., production, validation, and maintenance) must be assessed. Today, this is done without sufficient ICT (information and communication technology) support. In the German research project ImPaKT, reliable answers are to be inferred as to how technical and organizational changes to a partial model affect a complex, interdisciplinary overall system in an ICT-supported way. Therefore, a reference architecture is created using a Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach and a common parameter space. Adapted by corporate networks with their heterogeneous product and application lifecycle management (PLM/ALM) landscapes, homogeneous MBSE networks are created. The ImPaKT technology alliance is convergently developing existing ICT base technologies to enable engineering change management, linking isolated solutions and creating standards for handling changes to develop products faster and cost-efficiently and reduce risks.