Shared Content Management in Replicated Web Systems: A Design Framework Using Problem Decomposition, Controlled Simulation, and Feedback Learning

Replication is one of the primary techniques used to improve the quality of distributed content service. It generally reduces user latencies and increases a site's availability. However, to our knowledge, there is no systematic framework that combines the structure of both content and service components of a Web application to design effective replica hosting architectures. Recent advances in interconnected and multiple content distribution network (CDN) architectures render this problem even more complex. In this study, we develop a systematic framework for designing and evaluating large-scale, component-based replication architectures for Web systems that are driven by both the quality and effectiveness of service provisioning on the service network. The proposed framework employs a combination of problem decomposition, configuration evaluation through controlled system simulations, and a neural-network-based feedback learning mechanism in the exploration of the design space. A case study demonstrates the viability of the framework. The framework can be an effective decision support tool for a system designer to systematically explore design options and select an appropriate design configuration that best meets the desired design objectives.