AutoBash: Improving Configuration Management with
Operating System Causality Analysis
by Jason FLINN

Abstract

People spend too much time futzing with their computers, changing application configuration data, and fixing software installation problems. In this talk, I will describe AutoBash, as set of interactive tools that help users and system administrators perform configuration management tasks. I will first describe how AutoBash leverages causal tracking support implemented within the Linux kernel to understand the outputs (causal effects) and inputs (causal dependencies) of executing configuration actions. Causal analysis helps users understand configuration problems and guides the search for solutions. I will next describe how OS-level speculative execution allows AutoBash to try possible actions, examine their effects, and roll them back when necessary. I will conclude by showing preliminary results that demonstrate how AutoBash helps fix configuration problems for the CVS version control system, the gcc cross compiler, and the Apache Web server.

About the speaker

Jason FLINN is the Morris Wellman faculty development Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department at the University of Michigan. His research interests include mobile computing, operating systems, and distributed systems. Jason earned his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in 2001. He received an NSF Career award in 2004, and his papers have received best paper awards from several conferences, including SOSP and OSDI.