Comparison of Various Algorithms for Scheduling Tasks in a Desktop Grid System Using a ComBos Simulator

Abstract

A desktop grid system is one of the most common types of distributed systems. The distinctive features of a desktop grid system are the high heterogeneity and unreliability of computing nodes. Desktop grid systems deployed on the BOINC platform are considered. To simulate the functioning of the desktop grid, a modified ComBos simulator based on SimGrid is used. The ComBos simulator adds support for applications with a limited number of tasks, asynchronous execution of multiple applications and various computing resources. Data from existing voluntary distributed computing projects were used to simulate the functioning of the desktop grid. The paper deals with the modification of scheduling system for a desktop grid. Algorithms FS, FCFS, SRPT, and SWRPT were selected from existing heuristic algorithms for comparison. Two heuristic algorithms for scheduling MSF and MPSF tasks were proposed. A simulation of the desktop grid was performed based on data from existing voluntary distributed computing projects. The simulation took into account asynchronous execution of five different computing applications on several types of computing resources. A comparative analysis of the results of various scheduling algorithms in the desktop grid is carried out. Analysis of the results showed that the proposed MPSF algorithm shows the best results from the compared algorithms. The proposed heuristic scheduling algorithm can be applied to umbrella distributed computing projects and to desktop grid in general.