Analyzing the Robustness of Dynamic Loop Scheduling for Heterogeneous Computing Systems

Abstract

Scheduling scientific applications in parallel on non-dedicated, heterogeneous systems, where the computing resources may differ in availability, is a challenging task, and requires efficient execution and robust scheduling methods. Dynamic loop scheduling methods provide means to achieve the desired robust performance. These methods are based on probabilistic analyses and are inherently robust. However, a methodology is required to measure the robustness of the dynamic loop scheduling methods that ensures their performance in unpredictably changing computing environments. In this paper, a methodology is proposed for performing robustness analysis of the dynamic loop scheduling techniques using a metric, formulated in earlier work, to measure their robustness in heterogeneous computing systems with uncertainties. The dynamic loop scheduling methods have been implemented in a simulation. The experimental results were used as an input to the proposed methodology, which in turn has been used to experimentally analyze the robustness of a number of dynamic loop scheduling methods on a heterogeneous system with variable availability.