Compiler‐assisted full checkpointing

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes a compiler‐based approach to checkpointing for process recovery. The implementation is transparent to both the programmer and the hardware. The compiler‐generated sparse potential checkpoint code maintains the desired checkpoint interval. Adaptive checkpointing reduces the size of the checkpoints. Training is used to select low‐cost, high‐coverage potential checkpoints. The problem of selecting potential checkpoints is shown to be NP‐complete, and a heuristic algorithm is introduced that determines a quick suboptimal solution. These compiler‐assisted checkpointing techniques have been implemented in a modified version of the GNU C (GCC) compiler. Experiments involving the modified version of the GCC compiler on a Sun SPARC workstation are summarized.