Towards checkpoint placement for dynamic memory allocation in intermittent computing

Abstract

Energy harvesting allows computational devices to run without a battery, opening new application domains of computing. Such devices work under an intermittent computing model, where the system may power cycle several times a second. To ensure progress, intermittent computing uses checkpoints, with much work being dedicated to this direction. However, no existing approaches handle programs using dynamically allocated memory in the intermittent computing model. We pose this as a challenge area, demonstrate the complexities of checkpointing in this space, and propose key characteristics of an effective solution.