Explore the resurgence of System Dynamics in computer science through this 27-minute conference talk from SREcon21. Delve into the history and principles of System Dynamics, a modeling approach developed by MIT computer scientists that focuses on feedback loops in systems. Discover why this technique, once overshadowed by formal verification, is becoming increasingly relevant in addressing outages triggered by dysfunctional feedback loops in distributed applications and automation environments. Learn about available tooling for software engineers to build and run System Dynamics models, and understand how to represent various architectures using its abstractions. Gain insights into topics such as Cybernetics, Control Theory, AWS Kinesis, configuration changes, and stock flow models, while exploring the Fault Project and its demonstration.
Overview
Syllabus
Introduction
What is System Dynamics
Origins of System Dynamics
Cybernetics
System Dynamics
Control Theory
Primary Abstractions
Modeling Systems
Distributed Systems
AWSkinesis
Outages
Configuration Change
Stock Flow Models
Resources
Conventional Tools
Fault Project
Fault Demo
Taught by
USENIX
