Systems and methods for recording and replaying application execution

1. A method for recording execution of an application running on a computer system using a program module, the method comprising:

detecting a non-deterministic event associated with a process of the application;

deferring recordation of the non-deterministic event until the process enters a kernel mode, wherein the process enters the kernel mode at an occurrence of a deterministic event;

when the process enters the kernel mode, recording the non-deterministic event;

and saving the recorded event for deterministic replay.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the program module comprises a dynamically loaded kernel module.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing, by the program module, a virtual execution environment for encapsulating one or more processes of the application in a self-contained unit.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

suspending live execution of the application;

saving a live execution state of the application; and

resuming execution of the application in the virtual execution environment.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying a plurality of non-deterministic events relating to a shared resource;

recording an ordering of the plurality of non-deterministic events for the shared resource; and

storing the recorded ordering of the plurality of non-deterministic events for the shared resource for deterministic replay.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the non-deterministic event associated with the process comprises detecting a signal addressed to the process of the application.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the non-deterministic event associated with the process comprises detecting a request for transfer of access right to a page in a shared memory to another process of the application.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

restoring the saved recorded event; and

deterministically replaying the recorded event.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the process is configured to enters the kernel mode when the process invokes a system call, accesses a memory address that causes a memory fault, or attempts to perform a division by zero.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein identifying the plurality of non-deterministic events relating to the shared resource comprises detecting a plurality of system calls for operating on a pipe between processes of the application.

11. The method of claim 5 , wherein identifying the plurality of non-deterministic events relating to the shared resource comprises detecting a plurality of system calls for modifying memory layout.

12. The method of claim 6 , wherein the signal is addressed to the process of the application by another process of the application running on the computer system.

13. A system for recording execution of an application, the system comprising:

a processor for running:

the application; and

a program module, wherein the program module is configured to:

detect a non-deterministic event associated with a process of the application;

defer recordation of the non-deterministic event until the process enters a kernel mode, wherein the process enters the kernel mode at an occurrence of a deterministic event;

when the process enters the kernel mode, record the non-deterministic event; and

save the recorded event for deterministic replay.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the program module is configured to provide a virtual execution environment for encapsulating one or more processes of the application in a self-contained unit.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the program module is further configured to:

suspend live execution of the application;

save the live execution state of the application; and

resume execution of the application in the virtual execution environment.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the non-deterministic event comprises a receipt of a signal addressed to the process of the application.

17. The system of claim 13 , further comprising a shared memory, wherein the non-deterministic event comprises a receipt of a request for transfer of access right to a page in the shared memory to another process.

18. The system of claim 13 , wherein the program module is configured to:

identify a plurality of non-deterministic events relating to a shared resource;

record an ordering of the plurality of non-deterministic events for the shared resource; and

store the recorded ordering of the plurality of non-deterministic events for the shared resource for deterministic replay.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of non-deterministic events relating to the shared resource comprises a plurality of system calls for accessing shared mapped files.

20. The system of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of non-deterministic events relating to the shared resource comprises a plurality of system calls for operating on a pipe between processes of the application.