A Wait-Free Dynamic Storage Allocator by Adopting the Helping Queue Pattern

Stellwag P, Krainz J, Schröder-Preikschat W (2010)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Conference contribution, Original article

Publication year: 2010

Publisher: ACTA Press

Edited Volumes: Proceedings of the 9th IASTED International Conference on Parallel and Distributed Computing and Networks, PDCN 2010

City/Town: Calgary, AB, Canada

Book Volume: 676

Pages Range: 79-87

Conference Proceedings Title: Proceedings Parallel and Distributed Computing and Networks (PDCN 2010)

Event location: Innsbruck, Austria AT

ISBN: 978-0-88986-820-5

URI: http://www4.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/Publications/2010/stellwag_pdcn2010_malloc.pdf

DOI: 10.2316/P.2010.676-052

Abstract

Most of the real-time applicable dynamic storage allocators rely on conventional locking strategies for protecting globally accessible data. But it is common that lock compositions do not scale well under high allocation and deallocation rates in parallel scenarios, as they lead to convoy effects. Furthermore, lock compositions lead to jitter, which is often a critical factor in real-time systems. Additionally, it is often desirable to guarantee progress of threads in order to be able to determine the worst-case execution time. This led us designing a wait-free dynamic storage allocator (DSA), which can guarantee progress of threads and does not influence other threads to make progress. Our DSA implementation relies on a kind of buddy strategy with approximate best-fit. Hence, it ensures for this kind of allocation strategy typical memory wastage as a result of internal fragmentation. Preliminary tests show that we can outperform established DSA implementations in terms of predictability, like the famous TLSF memory allocator. To the best of our knowledge, our DSA is the first known approach using a scalable and bounded nonblocking synchronization strategy. Our approach towards a wait-free DSA algorithm is applicable in real-time applications where adequate a priori knowledge about the memory requirements is available because it uses a statically allocated heap. We think that most real-time systems-especially ones with hard timing constraints-fulfill this precondition.

Authors with CRIS profile

Philippe Stellwag Graduiertenzentrum der FAU Jakob Krainz Lehrstuhl für Informatik 2 (Programmiersysteme) Wolfgang Schröder-Preikschat Lehrstuhl für Informatik 4 (Verteilte Systeme und Betriebssysteme)

How to cite

APA:

Stellwag, P., Krainz, J., & Schröder-Preikschat, W. (2010). A Wait-Free Dynamic Storage Allocator by Adopting the Helping Queue Pattern. In Proceedings Parallel and Distributed Computing and Networks (PDCN 2010) (pp. 79-87). Innsbruck, Austria, AT: Calgary, AB, Canada: ACTA Press.

MLA:

Stellwag, Philippe, Jakob Krainz, and Wolfgang Schröder-Preikschat. "A Wait-Free Dynamic Storage Allocator by Adopting the Helping Queue Pattern." Proceedings of the Parallel and Distributed Computing and Networks (PDCN 2010), Innsbruck, Austria Calgary, AB, Canada: ACTA Press, 2010. 79-87.

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