Abstract
The verification of concurrent finite-state systems by model- checking often requires to generate (a large part of) the state space of the system under analysis. Because of the state explosion problem, this may be a resource-consuming operation, both in terms of memory and Cpu time. In this paper, we aim at improving the performances of state space construction by using parallelization techniques. We present parallel algorithms for constructing state spaces (or Labeled Transition Systems) on a network or a cluster of workstations. Each node in the network builds a part of the state space, all parts being merged to form the whole state space upon termination of the parallel computation. These algorithms have been implemented within the [Cadp] verification tool set and experimented on various concurrent applications specified in Lotos. The results obtained show close to ideal speedups and a good load balancing between network nodes.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
S. Allmaier, S. Dalibor, and D. Kreische. Parallel Graph Generation Algorithms for Shared and Distributed Memory Machines. In Proceedings of the Parallel Computing Conference PARCO’97 (Bonn, Germany). Springer-Verlag, 1997.
S. Allmaier, M. Kowarschik, and G. Horton. State Space Construction and Steady-State Solution of GSPNs on a Shared-Memory Multiprocessor. In Proceedings of the 7th IEEE International Workshop on Petri Nets and Performance Models PNPM’97 (Saint Malo, France), pages 112–121. IEEE CS-Press, 1997.
ANSI. Small Computer System Interface-2. Standard X3.131-1994, American National Standards Institute, January 1994.
J. A. Bergstra and J. W. Klop. Process Algebra for Synchronous Communication. Information and Computation, 60:109–137, 1984.
S. Caselli, G. Conte, F. Bonardi, and M. Fontanesi. Experiences on SIMD Massively Parallel GSPN Analysis. In G. Haring and G. Kotsis, editors, Computer Performance Evaluation: Modelling Techniques and Tools, volume 794. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer-Verlag, 1994.
S. C aselli, G. Conte, and P. Marenzoni. Parallel State Space Exploration for GSPN Models. In G. De Michelis and M. Diaz, editors, Applications and Theory of Petri Nets 1995, volume 935, pages 181–200. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer-Verlag, 1995.
Ernest Chang and Rosemary Roberts. An Improved Algorithm for Decentralized Extrema-Finding in Circular Configurations of Processes. Communications of the ACM, 22(5):281–283, may 1979.
G. Ciardo, J. Gluckman, and D. Nicol. Distributed State Space Generation of Discrete-State Stochastic Models. INFORMS Journal of Computing, 1997.
A. Cimatti, E. Clarke, F. Giunchiglia, and M. Roveri. NUSMV: a New Symbolic Model Checker. Springer International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer (STTT), 2(4):410–425, April 2000.
E. Clarke, O. Grumberg, and D. Peled. Model Checking. MIT Press, 2000.
D. Dill. The Murε Verification System. In R. Alur and T. Henzinger, editors, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Computer-Aided Verification CAV’96, volume 1102 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 390–393. Springer Verlag, July 1996.
Jean-Claude Fernandez, Hubert Garavel, Alain Kerbrat, Radu Mateescu, Laurent Mounier, and Mihaela Sighireanu. CADP (CÆSAR/ALDEBARAN Development Package): A Protocol Validation and Verification Toolbox. In Rajeev Alur and Thomas A. Henzinger, editors, Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Computer-Aided Verification (New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA), volume 1102 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 437–440. Springer Verlag, August 1996.
Hubert Garavel. OPEN/CÆSAR: An Open Software Architecture for Verification, Simulation, and Testing. In Bernhard Steffen, editor, Proceedings of the First International Conference on Tools and Algorithms for the Construction and Analysis of Systems TACAS’98 (Lisbon, Portugal), volume 1384 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 68–84, Berlin, March 1998. Springer Verlag. Full version available as INRIA Research Report RR-3352.
Hubert Garavel and Laurent Mounier. Specification and Verification of Various Distributed Leader Election Algorithms for Unidirectional Ring Networks. Science of Computer Programming, 29(1-2):171–197, July 1997. Special issue on Industrially Relevant Applications of Formal Analysis Techniques. Full version available as INRIA Research Report RR-2986.
W. Gropp, S. Huss-Lederman, A. Lumsdaine, E. Lusk, B. Nitzberg, W. Saphir, and M. Snir. MPI: The Complete Reference, Vol. 2 — The MPI-2 Extensions. MIT Press, 1998.
B. Haverkort, H. Bohnenkamp, and A. Bell. On the Efficient Sequential and Distributed Evaluation of Very Large Stochastic Petri Nets. In Proceedings PNPM’99 (Petri Nets and Performance Models). IEEE CS-Press, 1999.
T. Heyman, D. Geist, O. Grumberg, and A. Schuster. Achieving Scalability in Parallel Reachability Analysis of Very Large Circuits. In E. A. Emerson and A. P. Sistla, editors, Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer-Aided Verification CAV’2000 (Chicago, IL, USA), volume 1855 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 20–35. Springer Verlag, July 2000.
C. A. R. Hoare. Communicating Sequential Processes. Prentice-Hall, 1985.
G. Holzmann. The Model Checker SPIN. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 23(5):279–295, May 1997.
Gerard J. Holzmann. Design and Validation of Computer Protocols. Software Series. Prentice Hall, 1991.
ISO/IEC. LOTOS — A Formal Description Technique Based on the Temporal Ordering of Observational Behavior. International Standard 8807, International Organization for Standardization — Information Processing Systems — Open Systems Interconnection, Genève, September 1988.
J-M. Jézéquel, W.M. Ho, A. Le Guennec, and F. Pennaneac’h. UMLAUT: an Extendible UML Transformation Framework. In R.J. Hall and E. Tyugu, editors, Proceedings of the 14th IEEE International Conference on Automated Software Engineering ASE’99. IEEE, 1999. Also available as INRIA Technical Report RR-3775.
W. J. Knottenbelt and P. G. Harrison. Distributed Disk-Based Solution Techniques for Large Markov Models. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Meeting on the Numerical Solution of Markov Chains NSMC’99, Zaragoza, Spain, September 1999.
W. J. Knottenbelt, M. A. Mestern, P. G. Harrison, and P. Kritzinger. Probability, Parallelism and the State Space Exploration Problem. In Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Modelling, Techniques and Tools (TOOLS’ 98), pages 165–179. LNCS 1469, September 1998.
Gérard Le Lann. Distributed Systems — Towards a Formal Approach. In B. Gilchrist, editor, Information Processing 77, pages 155–160. IFIP, North-Holland, 1977.
F. Lerda and R. Sista. Distributed-Memory Model Checking with SPIN. In D. Dams, R. Gerth, S. Leue, and M. Massink, editors, Proceedings of the 5th and 6th International SPIN Workshops on Theoretical and Practical Aspects of SPIN Model Checking SPIN’99, volume 1680 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 22–39. Springer Verlag, July 1999.
P. Marenzoni, S. Caselli, and G. Conte. Analysis of Large GSPN Models: a Distributed Solution Tool. In Proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Petri Nets and Performance Models, pages 122–131. IEEE Computer Society Press, 1997.
Radu Mateescu and Mihaela Sighireanu. Efficient On-the-Fly Model-Checking for Regular Alternation-Free Mu-Calculus. In Stefania Gnesi, Ina Schieferdecker, and Axel Rennoch, editors, Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Formal Methods for Industrial Critical Systems FMICS’2000 (Berlin, Germany), GMD Report 91, pages 65–86, Berlin, April 2000. Also available as INRIA Research Report RR-3899.
F. Mattern. Algorithms for Distributed Termination Detection. Distributed Computing, 2:161–175, 1987.
Robin Milner. Communication and Concurrency. Prentice-Hall, 1989.
D. Nicol and G. Ciardo. Automated Parallelization of Discrete State-Space Generation. Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, 47:153–167, 1997.
Y.S. Ramakrishna and S.A. Smolka. Partial-Order Reduction in the Weak Modal Mu-Calculus. In A. Mazurkiewicz and J. Winkowski, editors, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Concurrency Theory CONCUR’97, volume 1243 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 5–24. Springer Verlag, 1997.
Judi Romijn. Model Checking the HAVi Leader Election Protocol. Technical Report SEN-R9915, CWI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 1999. submitted to Formal Methods in System Design.
U. Stern and D. Dill. Parallelizing the Murε Verifier. In Computer Aided Verification, volume 1254, pages 256–267. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer-Verlag, 1997.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Garavel, H., Mateescu, R., Smarandache, I. (2001). Parallel state space construction for model-checking. In: Dwyer, M. (eds) Model Checking Software. SPIN 2001. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2057. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45139-0_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45139-0_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-42124-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45139-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive