Instrument-based distributed computing systems

• US 20070124363A1
• Filed: 12/12/2005
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
• Inventors: Gaudette, Thomas, Lurie, Roy
• Granted Patent: US 7,908,313 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

An instrument-based distributed computing system is disclosed that accelerates the measurement, analysis, verification and validation of data in a distributed computing environment. A large computing work can be performed in a distributed fashion using the instrument-based distributed system. The instrument-based distributed system may include a client that creates a job. The job may include one or more tasks. The client may distribute a portion of the job to one or more remote workers on a network. The client may reside in an instrument. One or more workers may also reside in instruments. The workers execute the received portion of the job and may return execution results to the client. As such, the present invention allows the use of instrument-based distributed system on a network to conduct the job and facilitate decreasing the time for executing the job.

Claims

1. In an instrument that provides a computing environment, a method for executing a job in a distributed fashion, the method comprising the steps of:

installing a computing worker for providing the computing environment in the instrument;

receiving a portion of a job generated by a remote client, wherein the job include one or more tasks;

enabling the computing worker to execute the received portion of the job; and

returning execution result to the remote client.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing environment comprises a test environment and the job comprises a test for testing a unit under test.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the test environment accelerates a measurement, analysis, verification or validation of the test.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing a local area network interface for the instrument.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving comprises the step of:

receiving the portion of the job using a distributed array.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of receiving comprises the step of:

storing a portion of the array in the computing environment, wherein the portion comprises a column of the array.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the worker takes an action to perform an operation on the portion of the array.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the instrument is included in a sub-cluster of a cluster including the client.

9. In an instrument, a method for executing a job in a distributed fashion, the method comprising the steps of:

installing a computing client for providing a computing environment in the instrument;

enabling the client to generate a job in the computing environment, wherein the job includes one or more tasks; and

distributing the job to remote computing workers for a distributed execution of the job.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

providing a local area network interface for the instrument.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the computing environment comprises a test environment and the job comprises a test for testing a unit under test.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the test environment accelerates a measurement, analysis, verification or validation of the test.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of distributing comprises the step of:

distributing the job to the remote workers using a distributed array.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of distributing comprises the step of:

providing a technical programming language statement to form a program instruction in the job, wherein the technical programming language statement represents the array.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the program instruction is executed to store a first portion of the array in a first computing worker and to store a second portion of the array in a second computing worker.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first portion comprises a first column of the array and the second portion comprises a second column of the array.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first computing worker takes an action to perform an operation on the first portion of the array, and the second computing worker takes an action to perform an operation on the second portion of the array.

18. A system for executing a job in a distributed fashion in a computing environment, the system comprising:

a first instrument for generating a job, wherein the job includes one or more tasks; and

a second instrument for receiving a first portion of the job and executing the first portion of the job to obtain execution results of the first portion of the job, wherein the second instrument returns the execution results of the first portion of the job to the first instrument.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising

a workstation for receiving a second portion of the job and executing the second portion of the job to obtain execution results of the second portion of the job, wherein the workstation returns the execution results of the second portion of the job to the first instrument.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising

an intermediary agent for receiving the job from the first instrument and distributing the first portion of the job to the second instrument, wherein the intermediary agent receives the execution results from the second instrument and returns the results to the first instrument.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the first and second instrument comprises a local area network interface for the instruments.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the first instrument distributes the first portion of the job to the second instrument using a distributed array.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the second instrument stores a first portion of the array in the second instrument, and the first portion comprises a first column of the array.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein the second instrument takes an action to perform an operation on the first portion of the array.

25. The system of claim 18, wherein the second instrument is included in a sub-cluster of a cluster including the first instrument.

26. A system for executing a job in a distributed fashion in a computing environment, wherein a client requests an execution of the job, the system comprising:

a first instrument for receiving a first portion of the job and executing the first portion of the job to obtain an execution result of the first portion of the job, and

a workstation for receiving a second portion of the job and executing the second portion of the job to obtain an execution result of the second portion of the job, wherein the first instrument and the workstation return the execution results to the client.

27. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

a second instrument for receiving a third portion of the job and executing the third portion of the job to obtain an execution result of the third portion of the job, wherein the second instrument is a different type of instruments than the first instrument.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the first instrument accelerates the execution of the first portion of the job using a hardware component.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the first instrument uses an ASIC, a FPGA, a DSP, a CPU, or a GPU to execute the first portion of the job.

30. A medium holding instructions executable in an instrument for a method of executing a job in a distributed fashion, comprising the steps of:

installing a computing client for providing a computing environment in the instrument;

enabling the client to generate a job in the computing environment, wherein the job includes one or more tasks; and

distributing the job to remote computing workers for a distributed execution of the job.

31. The medium of claim 30, further comprising the step of:

providing a local area network interface for the instrument.

32. The medium of claim 30, wherein the computing environment comprises a test environment and the job comprises a test for testing a unit under test.

33. The medium of claim 32, wherein the test environment accelerates a measurement, analysis, verification or validation of the test.

34. The medium of claim 30, wherein the step of distributing comprises the step of:

distributing the job to the remote workers using a distributed array.

35. The medium of claim 34, wherein the step of distributing comprises the step of:

providing a technical programming language statement to form a program instruction in the job, wherein the technical programming language statement represents the array.

36. The medium of claim 35, wherein the program instruction is executed to store a first portion of the array in a first computing worker and to store a second portion of the array in a second computing worker.

37. The medium of claim 36, wherein the first portion comprises a first column of the array and the second portion comprises a second column of the array.

38. The medium of claim 36, wherein the first computing worker takes an action to perform an operation on the first portion of the array, and the second computing worker takes an action to perform an operation on the second portion of the array.

39. A medium holding instructions executable in an instrument for a method for executing a job in a distributed fashion, comprising the steps of:

installing a computing worker for providing the computing environment in the instrument;

receiving a portion of a job generated by a remote client, wherein the job include one or more tasks;

enabling the computing worker to execute the received portion of the job; and

returning execution result to the remote client.

40. The medium of claim 39, wherein the computing environment comprises a test environment and the job comprises a test for testing a unit under test.

41. The medium of claim 40, wherein the test environment accelerates a measurement, analysis, verification or validation of the test.

42. The medium of claim 39, further comprising the step of:

providing a local area network interface for the instrument.

43. The medium of claim 39, wherein the step of receiving comprises the step of:

receiving the portion of the job using a distributed array.

44. The medium of claim 43, wherein the step of receiving comprises the step of:

storing a portion of the array in the computing environment, wherein the portion comprises a column of the array.

45. The medium of claim 44, wherein the worker takes an action to perform an operation on the portion of the array.

46. The medium of claim 39, wherein the instrument is included in a sub-cluster of a cluster including the client.