Cyclic Distributed Garbage Collection with Group Merger

Rodrigues, Helena C.C.D. and Jones, Richard (1997) Cyclic Distributed Garbage Collection with Group Merger. Technical report. University of Kent at Canterbury

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Abstract

This paper presents a new algorithm for distributed garbage collection and outlines its implementation within the Network Objects system. The algorithm is based on a reference listing scheme, which is augmented by partial tracing in order to collect distributed garbage cycles. Our collector is designed to be flexible, allowing efficiency, expediency and fault-tolerance to be traded against completeness. Processes may be dynamically organised into groups, according to appropriate heuristics, in order to reclaim distributed garbage cycles. Unlike previous group-based algorithms, multiple concurrent distributed garbage collections that span groups are supported: when two collection meet they may either merge, overlap or retreat. The algorithm places no overhead on local collectors and suspends local mutators only briefly. Partial tracing of the distributed graph involves only objects thought to be part of a garbage cycle: no collaboration with other processes is required.

Item Type:	Monograph (Technical report)
Uncontrolled keywords:	distributed systems, garbage collection, algorithms, termination detection, fault tolerance
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA 76 Software, computer programming,
Divisions:	Faculties > Science Technology and Medical Studies > School of Computing > Theoretical Computing Group Faculties > Science Technology and Medical Studies > School of Computing > Systems Architecture Group
Depositing User:	Mark Wheadon
Date Deposited:	02 Aug 2009 23:01
Last Modified:	13 Mar 2012 09:30
Resource URI:	http://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/21429 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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