Application scheduling and processor allocation in multiprogrammed parallel processing systems

Abstract

When large-scale multiprocessors for parallel processing are subjected to heavy diverse workloads of applications, it will be necessary to schedule them in a multiprogrammed fashion in order to use the system resources effectively and keep response times low. Information about the characteristics of individual applications can be used to achieve effective scheduling. We identify some useful parameters for characterizing applications. Prior work on multiprocessor scheduling and examination of several simplified special cases reveal some guiding principles for scheduling. The synthesis of full scheduling algorithms based on the principles is explored. We address directly the case of scheduling a batch of applications with deterministically known characteristics, but we also consider extensions to handle uncertainty in service times, priorities, and an arrival stream of applications.