Using logging and asynchronous checkpointing to implement recoverable distributed shared memory

Distributed shared memory provides a useful paradigm for developing distributed applications. As the number of processors in the system and running time of distributed applications increase, the likelihood of processor failure increases. A method of recovering processes running in a distributed shared memory environment which minimizes lost work and the cost of recovery is desirable so that long-running applications are not adversely affected by processor failure. A technique for achieving recoverable distributed shared memory which utilizes asynchronous process checkpoints and logging of pages accessed via read operations on the shared address space is presented. The scheme supports independent process recovery without forcing rollback of operational processes during recovery. The method is particularly useful in environments where taking process checkpoints is expensive