Title
Diagnosing performance changes by comparing request flows
Abstract
The causes of performance changes in a distributed system often elude even its developers. This paper develops a new technique for gaining insight into such changes: comparing request flows from two executions (e.g., of two system versions or time periods). Building on end-to-end request-flow tracing within and across components, algorithms are described for identifying and ranking changes in the flow and/or timing of request processing. The implementation of these algorithms in a tool called Spectroscope is evaluated. Six case studies are presented of using Spectroscope to diagnose performance changes in a distributed storage service caused by code changes, configuration modifications, and component degradations, demonstrating the value and efficacy of comparing request flows. Preliminary experiences of using Spectroscope to diagnose performance changes within select Google services are also presented.
Year
Venue
Keywords
2011
NSDI
request processing,system version,diagnosing performance change,performance change,configuration modification,end-to-end request-flow,component degradation,code change,request flow,case study,new technique,distributed storage,distributed system,machine learning
Field
DocType
Citations 
Ranking,Computer science,Distributed data store,Real-time computing,Tracing,Distributed computing
Conference
69
PageRank 
References 
Authors
2.12
26
9
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Raja R. Sambasivan122313.33
Alice Zheng292067.42
Michael De Rosa322818.89
Elie Krevat466753.83
Spencer Whitman5692.12
Michael Stroucken61287.38
William Wang7886.94
Lianghong Xu81145.76
Gregory R. Ganger94560383.16