This paper analyzes the phenomenon of software aging - namely, the gradual performance degradation and resource exhaustion in the long run - in the Android OS. The study intends to highlight if, and to what extent, devices from different vendors, under various usage conditions and configurations, are affected by software aging and which parts of the system are the main contributors. The results demonstrate that software aging systematically determines a gradual loss of responsiveness perceived by the user, and an unjustified depletion of physical memory. The analysis reveals differences in the aging trends due to the workload factors and to the type of running applications, as well as differences due to vendors' customization. Moreover, we analyze several system-level metrics to trace back the software aging effects to their main causes. We show that bloated Java containers are a significant contributor to software aging, and that it is feasible to mitigate aging through a micro-rejuvenation solution at the container level.

中文翻译：

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跨 Android 版本和供应商的软件老化综合研究

本文分析了Android操作系统中的软件老化现象——即长期来看性能逐渐下降和资源枯竭。该研究旨在强调来自不同供应商的设备在各种使用条件和配置下是否以及在多大程度上受到软件老化的影响，以及系统的哪些部分是主要贡献者。结果表明，软件老化系统地决定了用户感知的响应能力的逐渐丧失，以及物理内存的不合理消耗。分析揭示了由于工作负载因素和正在运行的应用程序类型而导致的老化趋势差异，以及由于供应商的定制而导致的差异。此外，我们分析了几个系统级指标，以追溯软件老化影响的主要原因。