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Multi-Objective Memory Bandwidth Regulation and Cache Partitioning for Multicore Real-Time Systems

Authors Binqi Sun , Zhihang Wei , Andrea Bastoni , Debayan Roy , Mirco Theile , Tomasz Kloda , Rodolfo Pellizzoni , Marco Caccamo

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Subject Classification

ACM Subject Classification
  • Computer systems organization → Real-time systems
  • Computer systems organization → Embedded software
Keywords
  • Multi-objective optimization
  • memory bandwidth regulation
  • cache partitioning
  • partitioned scheduling
  • real-time systems

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Abstract

Memory bandwidth regulation and cache partitioning are widely used techniques for achieving predictable timing in real-time computing systems. Combined with partitioned scheduling, these methods require careful co-allocation of tasks and resources to cores, as task execution times strongly depend on available allocated resources. To address this challenge, this paper presents a 0-1 linear program for task-resource co-allocation, along with a multi-objective heuristic designed to minimize resource usage while guaranteeing schedulability under a preemptive EDF scheduling policy. Our heuristic employs a multi-layer framework, where an outer layer explores resource allocations using Pareto-pruned search, and an inner layer optimizes task allocation by solving a knapsack problem using dynamic programming. To evaluate the performance of the proposed optimization algorithm, we profile real-world benchmarks on an embedded AMD UltraScale+ ZCU102 platform, with fine-grained resource partitioning enabled by the Jailhouse hypervisor, leveraging cache set partitioning and MemGuard for memory bandwidth regulation. Experiments based on the benchmarking results show that the proposed 0-1 linear program outperforms existing mixed-integer programs by finding more optimal solutions within the same time limit. Moreover, the proposed multi-objective multi-layer heuristic performs consistently better than the state-of-the-art multi-resource-task co-allocation algorithm in terms of schedulability, resource usage, number of non-dominated solutions, and computational efficiency.

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Binqi Sun, Zhihang Wei, Andrea Bastoni, Debayan Roy, Mirco Theile, Tomasz Kloda, Rodolfo Pellizzoni, and Marco Caccamo. Multi-Objective Memory Bandwidth Regulation and Cache Partitioning for Multicore Real-Time Systems. In 37th Euromicro Conference on Real-Time Systems (ECRTS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 335, pp. 2:1-2:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025) https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.ECRTS.2025.2

Author Details

Binqi Sun
  • Technical University of Munich, Germany
Zhihang Wei
  • Technical University of Munich, Germany
Andrea Bastoni
  • Technical University of Munich, Germany
Debayan Roy
  • Technical University of Munich, Germany
Mirco Theile
  • Technical University of Munich, Germany
Tomasz Kloda
  • LAAS-CNRS, Insa de Toulouse, France
Rodolfo Pellizzoni
  • University of Waterloo, Canada
Marco Caccamo
  • Technical University of Munich, Germany

Acknowledgements

Marco Caccamo was supported by an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship endowed by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Supplementary Materials

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