Target Manager – A Resource Provisioning Service for Enterprise Distributed Real-time and Embedded Systems

Middleware is increasingly used to develop and deploy components in enterprise distributed real-time and embedded (DRE) systems. A key challenge in these systems is devising resource management algorithms that deploy application components properly onto target nodes. To provide an accurate view of system resource utilization, these algorithms need runtime monitoring of resources. Runtime monitoring and allocation of resources is also needed to make redeployment or reconfiguration decisions triggered by various factors, such as failures, attacks, overloads, or changes in quality of service (QoS) requirements. DRE systems with a diverse range of applications can therefore benefit from a common resource provisioning service capable of monitoring resource data and enabling proper resource allocation in a timely manner. This paper provides two contributions to the study of runtime resource provisioning for enterprise DRE systems. First, it describes the challenges in developing Bulls-Eye, which is an open implementation of the OMG standard Target Manager specification that provides a reusable service for provisioning distributed resources in enterprise DRE systems. Second, it presents the results of experiments that applied Bulls-Eye to the multi-layer resource management subsystem of a shipboard computing environment. Our results show that provisioning resources at runtime in a DRE system via Bulls-Eye simplifies resource management and helps automate adaptations in the face of dynamic changes in operating conditions.