CSR-PDOS: Optimizing the Client/Server Environment Subject to User Satisfaction

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

This project reexamines systems problems in interactive client/server computing through the concept of having systems software optimize directly for the expressed satisfaction of the individual user. Satisfaction with a particular configuration or choice of parameters at the system software level varies dramatically from user to user. The project tests the hypothesis that a thin, nonintrusive user interface, in some cases combined with learning algorithms, can convey the individual user's satisfaction level, or other guidance, directly to the systems software with sufficient detail to allow the systems software to effectively customize its decisions to that individual user. To gather evidence about the hypothesis, the project is applying the concept to several systems problems that arise in contexts such as thin clients, desktop replacement systems, and modern web applications. These include: dynamic voltage and frequency scaling algorithms in power management; speculation in remote display systems; thread, process, and VM scheduling; and thread assignment/migration in multicore processors. The work in these areas is unified through: (1) the design, implementation, and evaluation (through user studies) of effective user interfaces to systems software, (2) seeking to determine an appropriate mix of explicit and implicit user feedback, and (3) determining the role of learning to minimize the amount of explicit feedback. If the hypothesis holds, it will illustrate a new way to build systems that are more satisfying for individual users.