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We obtain fast parallel algorithms for several scheduling problems. Some of the problems considered are: scheduling to minimize the number of tardy jobs; job sequencing with deadlines; scheduling to minimize earliness and tardiness penalties; channel assignment; and minimizing the mean finish time. The shared memory model of parallel computers is used. (Author)

We investigate dynamic algorithms for the interval scheduling problem. Our algorithm runs in amortised time $O(\log n)$ for query operation and $O(d\log^2 n)$ for insertion and removal operations, where $n$ and $d$ are the maximal numbers of intervals and pairwise overlapping intervals respectively. We also show that for a monotonic set, that is when no interval properly contains another interval, the amortised complexity is $O(\log n)$ for both query and update operations. We compare the two algorithms for the monotonic interval sets using experiments.

The problem of attaining energy efficiency in distributed systems is of importance, but a general, non-domain-specific theory of energy-minimal scheduling is far from developed. In this paper, we classify the problems of energy-minimal scheduling and present theoretical foundations of the same. We derive results concerning energy-minimal scheduling of independent jobs in a distributed system with functionally similar machines with different working and idle power ratings. The machines considered in our system can have identical as well as different speeds. If the jobs can be divided into arbitrary parts, we show that the minimum-energy schedule can be generated in linear time and give exact scheduling algorithms. For the cases where jobs are non-divisible, we prove that the scheduling problems are NP-hard and also give approximation algorithms for the same along with their bounds.

A graph-theoretic design process and software tool is defined for selecting a multiprocessing scheduling solution for a class of computational problems. The problems of interest are those that can be described with a dataflow graph and are intended to be executed repetitively on a set of identical processors. Typical applications include signal processing and control law problems. Graph-search algorithms and analysis techniques are introduced and shown to effectively determine performance bounds, scheduling constraints, and resource requirements. The software tool applies the design process to a given problem and includes performance optimization through the inclusion of additional precedence constraints among the schedulable tasks.

We describe work in progress concerning multi-instrument, multi-satellite scheduling. Most, although not all, Earth observing instruments currently in orbit are unique. In the relatively near future, however, we expect to see fleets of Earth observing spacecraft, many carrying nearly identical instruments. This presents a substantially new scheduling challenge. Inspired by successful commercial applications of evolutionary algorithms in scheduling domains, this paper presents work in progress regarding the use of evolutionary algorithms to solve a set of Earth observing related model problems. Both the model problems and the software are described. Since the larger problems will require substantial computation and evolutionary algorithms are embarrassingly parallel, we discuss our parallelization techniques using dedicated and cycle-scavenged workstations.

In many domains, scheduling a sequence of jobs is an important function contributing to the overall efficiency of the operation. At Boeing, we develop schedules for many different domains, including assembly of military and commercial aircraft, weapons systems, and space vehicles. Boeing is under contract to develop scheduling systems for the Space Station Payload Planning System (PPS) and Payload Operations and Integration Center (POIC). These applications require that we respect certain sequencing restrictions among the jobs to be scheduled while at the same time assigning resources to the jobs. We call this general problem scheduling and resource allocation. Genetic algorithms (GA's) offer a search method that uses a population of solutions and benefits from intrinsic parallelism to search the problem space rapidly, producing near-optimal solutions. Good intermediate solutions are probabalistically recombined to produce better offspring (based upon some application specific measure of solution fitness, e.g., minimum flowtime, or schedule completeness). Also, at any point in the search, any intermediate solution can be accepted as a final solution; allowing the search to proceed longer usually produces a better solution while terminating the search at virtually any time may yield an acceptable solution. Many processes are constrained by restrictions of sequence among the individual jobs. For a specific job, other jobs must be completed beforehand. While there are obviously many other constraints on processes, it is these on which we focussed for this research: how to allocate crews to jobs while satisfying job precedence requirements and personnel, and tooling and fixture (or, more generally, resource) requirements.

In this thesis, we give efficient approximation algorithms for two classical combinatorial optimization problems: multicommodity flow problems and shop scheduling problem. The algorithms we develop for these problems yield solutions that are not necessarily optimal, but come with a provable performance guarantee; that is, we can guarantee that the solution found is within a certain percentage of the optimal solution. This type of algorithm is known as an approximation algorithm. Our results show that by allowing a small error in the solution of a problem, it is often possible to gain a significant reduction in the running time of an algorithm for that problem. In Chapter 2, we study the multicommodity flow problem. The multicommodity flow problem involves simultaneously shipping several different commodities from their respective sources to their sinks in a single network so that the total amount of flow going through each edge is no more than its capacity. Associated with each commodity is a demand, which is the amount of that commodity that we wish to ship. Given a multicommodity flow problem, one often wants to know if there is a feasible flow, i.e., if it is possible to find a flow that satisfies the demands and obeys the capacity constraints. More generally, we might wish to know the maximum percentage z such that at least z percent of each demand can be shipped without violating the capacity constraints. The latter problem is known as the concurrent flow problem. multicommodity flow, scheduling, combinatorial optimization, network algorithms, approximation algorithms, randomized algorithms.

This paper addresses scheduling algorithms for message transmissions over a satellite broadcast system. The system is expected to deliver messages of widely varied length. Our objective is to find a scheduling algorithm that exhibits good delay performance for messages of all sizes. We show that classical scheduling algorithms such as First-Come-First-Serve and Round-Robin perform poorly in this environment. We study two alternative schemes. The first gives preemptive priority to the message with the Shortest Remaining Processing Time (SRPT). This scheme is known to minimize overall average message delays, but results in disproportionately large delays for long messages. The second scheme serves messages based on a dynamic priority function, where the priority of a message varies based on how long the message has been in the system as well as its length. This scheme results in somewhat larger overall average delays, but it is more fair to long messages.

We study competitive on-line scheduling in multi-processor real-time environments. In our model, every task has a deadline and a value that it obtains only if it completes by its deadline. A task can be assigned to any processor, all of which are equally powerful. The problem is to design an on-line scheduling algorithm (i.e. the scheduler has no knowledge of a task until it is released) with worst case guarantees as to the total value obtained by the system.

As an environment-friendly substitute for conventional fuel-powered vehicles, electric vehicles (EVs) and their components have been widely developed and deployed worldwide. The large-scale integration of EVs into power grid brings both challenges and opportunities to the system performance. On one hand, the load demand from EV charging imposes large impact on the stability and efficiency of power grid. On the other hand, EVs could potentially act as mobile energy storage systems to improve the power network performance, such as load flattening, fast frequency control, and facilitating renewable energy integration. Evidently, uncontrolled EV charging could lead to inefficient power network operation or even security issues. This spurs enormous research interests in designing charging coordination mechanisms. A key design challenge here lies in the lack of complete knowledge of events that occur in the future. Indeed, the amount of knowledge of future events significantly impacts the design of efficient charging control algorithms. This article focuses on introducing online EV charging scheduling techniques that deal with different degrees of uncertainty and randomness of future knowledge. Besides, we highlight the promising future research directions for EV charging control.

Bell System Technical Journal, 48: 9. November 1969 pp 2963-2974. Work-Scheduling Algorithms: A Nonprobabilistic Queuing Study (with Possible Application to No. 1 ESS). (Kruskal, Joseph B.)

In any computing environment, the availability of resources is finite, so effective utilization of resources is very important. To achieve effective management of the available resources in a scalable environment optimal mechanism is required. In order to do this, choosing of scheduling algorithm is important. The scheduling techniques should beselected in such a way that the various user demands are satisfied. In this paper, an overview of different scheduling techniques like cost and energy aware scheduling, cloud based workflow scheduling, an improved ant colony algorithm in cloud computing environment are analysed. S. Saranya Devi | V. Venkatesa Kumar | M. Newlin Rajkumar"Scheduling Algorithms in Cloud Computing - An Extensive Survey" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-2 | Issue-1 , December 2017, URL: http://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd5840.pdf  http://www.ijtsrd.com/engineering/electrical-engineering/5840/scheduling-algorithms-in-cloud-computing---an-extensive-survey/s-saranya-devi

In any computing environment, the availability of resources is finite, so effective utilization of resources is very important. To achieve effective management of the available resources in a scalable environment optimal mechanism is required. In order to do this, choosing of scheduling algorithm is important. The scheduling techniques should beselected in such a way that the various user demands are satisfied. In this paper, an overview of different scheduling techniques like cost and energy aware scheduling, cloud based workflow scheduling, an improved ant colony algorithm in cloud computing environment are analysed. S. Saranya Devi | V. Venkatesa Kumar | M. Newlin Rajkumar"Scheduling Algorithms in Cloud Computing - An Extensive Survey" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-2 | Issue-1 , December 2017, URL: http://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd5840.pdf  http://www.ijtsrd.com/engineering/electrical-engineering/5840/scheduling-algorithms-in-cloud-computing---an-extensive-survey/s-saranya-devi

In any computing environment, the availability of resources is finite, so effective utilization of resources is very important. To achieve effective management of the available resources in a scalable environment optimal mechanism is required. In order to do this, choosing of scheduling algorithm is important. The scheduling techniques should beselected in such a way that the various user demands are satisfied. In this paper, an overview of different scheduling techniques like cost and energy aware scheduling, cloud based workflow scheduling, an improved ant colony algorithm in cloud computing environment are analysed. S. Saranya Devi | V. Venkatesa Kumar | M. Newlin Rajkumar"Scheduling Algorithms in Cloud Computing - An Extensive Survey" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-2 | Issue-1 , December 2017, URL: http://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd5840.pdf  http://www.ijtsrd.com/engineering/electrical-engineering/5840/scheduling-algorithms-in-cloud-computing---an-extensive-survey/s-saranya-devi

This work studies online scheduling algorithms for buffer management, develops new algorithms, and analyzes their performances. Packets arrive at a release time r, with a non-negative weight w and an integer deadline d. At each time step, at most one packet is scheduled. The modified greedy (MG) algorithm is 1.618-competitive for the objective of maximizing the sum of weights of packets sent, assuming agreeable deadlines. We analyze the empirical behavior of MG in a situation with arbitrary deadlines and demonstrate that it is at a disadvantage when frequently preferring maximum weight packets over early deadline ones. We develop the MLP algorithm, which remedies this problem whilst mimicking the behavior of the offline algorithm. Our comparative analysis shows that, although the competitive ratio of MLP is not as good as that of MG, it performs better in practice. We validate this by simulating the behavior of both algorithms under a spectrum of simulated parameter settings. Finally, we propose the design of three additional algorithms, which may help in improving performance in practice.

The recent advances in the area of wireless networking present novel opportunities for network operators to expand their services to infrastructure-less wireless systems. Such networks, often referred to as ad-hoc or multi-hop or peer-to-peer networks, require architectures which do not necessarily follow the cellular paradigm. They consist of entirely wireless nodes, mixed and/or mobile, that require multiple hops (and hence relaying by intermediate nodes) to transmit their messages to the desired destinations. The distinguishing features of such all-wireless network architectures give rise to new trade-offs between traditional concerns in wireless communications (such as spectral efficiency, and energy conservation) and the notions of routing, scheduling and resource allocation. The purpose of this work is to identify and study some of these novel issues, propose solutions in the context of network control and evaluate the usual network performance measures as functions of the new trade-offs. To these ends, we address first the problem of routing connection-oriented traffic with energy efficiency in all-wireless multi-hop networks. We take advantage of the flexibility of wireless nodes to transmit at different power levels and define a framework for formulating the problem of session routing from the perspective of energy expenditure. A set of heuristics are developed for determining end-to-end unicast paths with sufficient bandwidth and transceiver resources, in which nodes use local information in order to select their transmission power and bandwidth allocation. We propose a set of metrics that associate each link transmission with a cost and consider both the cases of plentiful and limited bandwidth resources, the latter jointly with a set of channel allocation algorithms.

We consider Lagrangian duality based approaches to design and analyze algorithms for online energy-efficient scheduling. First, we present a primal-dual framework. Our approach makes use of the Lagrangian weak duality and convexity to derive dual programs for problems which could be formulated as convex assignment problems. The duals have intuitive structures as the ones in linear programming. The constraints of the duals explicitly indicate the online decisions and naturally lead to competitive algorithms. Second, we use a dual-fitting approach, which also based on the weak duality, to study problems which are unlikely to admit convex relaxations. Through the analysis, we show an interesting feature in which primal-dual gives idea for designing algorithms while the analysis is done by dual-fitting. We illustrate the advantages and the flexibility of the approaches through problems in different setting: from single machine to unrelated machine environments, from typical competitive analysis to the one with resource augmentation, from convex relaxations to non-convex relaxations.

We consider Lagrangian duality based approaches to design and analyze algorithms for online energy-efficient scheduling. First, we present a primal-dual framework. Our approach makes use of the Lagrangian weak duality and convexity to derive dual programs for problems which could be formulated as convex assignment problems. The duals have intuitive structures as the ones in linear programming. The constraints of the duals explicitly indicate the online decisions and naturally lead to competitive algorithms. Second, we use a dual-fitting approach, which also based on the weak duality, to study problems which are unlikely to admit convex relaxations. Through the analysis, we show an interesting feature in which primal-dual gives idea for designing algorithms while the analysis is done by dual-fitting. We illustrate the advantages and the flexibility of the approaches through problems in different setting: from single machine to unrelated machine environments, from typical competitive analysis to the one with resource augmentation, from convex relaxations to non-convex relaxations.

We obtain fast parallel algorithms for several scheduling problems. Some of the problems considered are: scheduling to minimize the number of tardy jobs; job sequencing with deadlines; scheduling to minimize earliness and tardiness penalties; channel assignment; and minimizing the mean finish time. The shared memory model of parallel computers is used. (Author)

Consider an airlift operation which consists of several routes, each having missions which are subject to given time schedules. The aircraft are manned with aircrews that are required to rest for a certain period of time after each leg of a mission. A mission may be continued whenever a rested aircrew is available at the location. Given the number of missions that are needed to be flown on the different routes, and given the schedule timetable that is associated with those missions, we consider the problems: (1) What is the minimum number of crews that are needed to maintain the operation? (2) How many aircrews are needed to be staged at each location? (3) If the number of available aircrews is less than the minimum needed, which legs of what missions may be delayed so that the minimum required number of aircrews is reduced? We will exclude from the analysis the trivial case where the rest period of the aircrews is always less than the period of time for which the aircrafts are delayed. If this is the case, then it is clear that the minimum number of aircrews is equal to the number of missions and all the aircrews must be staged initially at the home base.

The limited availability and high cost of crew time and scarce resources make optimization of space operations critical. Advances in computer technology coupled with new iterative search techniques permit the near optimization of complex scheduling problems that were previously considered computationally intractable. Described here is a class of search techniques called Intelligent Perturbation Algorithms. Several scheduling systems which use these algorithms to optimize the scheduling of space crew, payload, and resource operations are also discussed.

We obtain fast parallel algorithms for several scheduling problems. Some of the problems considered are: scheduling to minimize the number of tardy jobs; job sequencing with deadlines; scheduling to minimize earliness and tardiness penalties; channel assignment; and minimizing the mean finish time. The shared memory model of parallel computers is used. (Author)

We obtain fast parallel algorithms for several scheduling problems. Some of the problems considered are: scheduling to minimize the number of tardy jobs; job sequencing with deadlines; scheduling to minimize earliness and tardiness penalties; channel assignment; and minimizing the mean finish time. The shared memory model of parallel computers is used. (Author)

We obtain fast parallel algorithms for several scheduling problems. Some of the problems considered are: scheduling to minimize the number of tardy jobs; job sequencing with deadlines; scheduling to minimize earliness and tardiness penalties; channel assignment; and minimizing the mean finish time. The shared memory model of parallel computers is used. (Author)

One of the most important computer architecture innovations to appear in the market place during the last ten years is parallel processing on a shared memory multicomputer. This report presents new algorithms for a variety of network models along with empirical analysis on both sequential and parallel computers. An empirical study on the AT and T KORBX system is also presented. This system uses eight processors each of which has vector capability. Our research program objective is to develop and empirically test new parallel algorithms and software for a wide variety of optimization problems. The problems studied this past year include the shortest path problem, the assignment problem, the semi-assignment problem, the transportation problem, and the generalized network problem. Algorithms for all of these models have been developed and empirically tested on a variety of computers. In addition, we worked with the Military Airlift Command to test the AT&T KORBX system located at Scott Air Force Base. (kr)

In a multiprogramming system, multiple processes exist concurrently in main memory. Each process alternates between using a processor and waiting for some event to occur, such as the completion of an I O operation. The processor or processors are kept busy by executing one process while the others wait. The key to multiprogramming is scheduling. CPU scheduling deals with the problem of deciding which of the processes in the ready queue is to be allocated the CPU. By switching the CPU among processor the operating system can make the computer more productive. Scheduling affectes the performance of the system because it determines which processes will wait and which will progress. In this paper, simulation of various scheduling algorithm First Come First Served FCFS , Round Robin RR , Shortest Process Next SPN and Shortest Remaining Time SRT is done over C Daw Khin Po "Simulation of Process Scheduling Algorithms" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-3 | Issue-4 , June 2019, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd25124.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/computer-science/operating-system/25124/simulation-of-process-scheduling-algorithms/daw-khin-po

The Automated Scheduling and Planning Environment (ASPEN) software system, aspects of which have been reported in several previous NASA Tech Briefs articles, includes a subsystem that utilizes a portfolio of heuristic algorithms that work synergistically to solve problems. The nature of the synergy of the specific algorithms is that their likelihoods of success are negatively correlated: that is, when a combination of them is used to solve a problem, the probability that at least one of them will succeed is greater than the sum of probabilities of success of the individual algorithms operating independently of each other. In ASPEN, the portfolio of algorithms is used in a planning process of the iterative repair type, in which conflicts are detected and addressed one at a time until either no conflicts exist or a user-defined time limit has been exceeded. At each choice point (e.g., selection of conflict; selection of method of resolution of conflict; or choice of move, addition, or deletion) ASPEN makes a stochastic choice of a combination of algorithms from the portfolio. This approach makes it possible for the search to escape from looping and from solutions that are locally but not globally optimum.

Time management is an important factor highly considered in any organization or system because it goes a very long way in determining productivity. In the light of this, software engineers using the scheduler have taken series of measures in designing systems that will process and complete jobs assigned to them in a predictably manageable time in order to increase the number of jobs processes per unit time. Decisions that the scheduler makes , concerning the sequence and length of time that processes may run are not easy ones, as the scheduler has only a limited amount of information about the processes that are ready to run. However, with the use of appropriate scheduling algorithms, important goals such as interactivity, effectiveness, cost and most importantly time can be balanced. In this work, three scheduling algorithms were considered, first-in-first-out (FIFO), round robin and shortest job First algorithms. A theoretical analysis that subject the algorithms to the same condition is performed through the use of exemplary job processes to determine the best among the algorithms. Job completion time, response time and permutation time were evaluated and it was discovered that shortest job first gives the optimal performance of scheduling processes followed by round robin and lastly FIFO.

Time management is an important factor highly considered in any organization or system because it goes a very long way in determining productivity. In the light of this, software engineers using the scheduler have taken series of measures in designing systems that will process and complete jobs assigned to them in a predictably manageable time in order to increase the number of jobs processes per unit time. Decisions that the scheduler makes , concerning the sequence and length of time that processes may run are not easy ones, as the scheduler has only a limited amount of information about the processes that are ready to run. However, with the use of appropriate scheduling algorithms, important goals such as interactivity, effectiveness, cost and most importantly time can be balanced. In this work, three scheduling algorithms were considered, first-in-first-out (FIFO), round robin and shortest job First algorithms. A theoretical analysis that subject the algorithms to the same condition is performed through the use of exemplary job processes to determine the best among the algorithms. Job completion time, response time and permutation time were evaluated and it was discovered that shortest job first gives the optimal performance of scheduling processes followed by round robin and lastly FIFO.

Several methods of scheduling a time division multiple access, or TDMA, receiver with no feedback capability are evaluated for their throughput performance. Some of the options considered include prior time as opposed to real time scheduling, optimal as opposed to simple or greedy scheduling, multiple listening capability, and the ability to utilize incremental redundancy techniques. All of these methods are compared by using various values for the rebroadcast redundancy. Keywords: Scheduling algorithms; Spread spectrum; Incremental redundancy; Radio networks.

This research aims to develop new optimization models and algorithms for project scheduling under both resource constraints and uncertainties, a problem known as the stochastic resource-constrained project scheduling problem (SRCPSP) in the operations research (OR) and scheduling literature. In a typical SRCPSP, a decision-maker attempts to obtain a feasible schedule of project tasks such that: (i) their temporal/precedence relationships are satisfied; (ii) the available resource capacity is not exceeded in each time period; and (iii) the expected project makespan is minimized. Using the developed modeling and solution methodologies, it is our goal to enhance the quality of decision support for scheduling complex large-scale projects in military, manufacturing, construction and professional service sectors.

This research aims to develop new optimization models and algorithms for project scheduling under both resource constraints and uncertainties, a problem known as the stochastic resource-constrained project scheduling problem (SRCPSP) in the operations research (OR) and scheduling literature. In a typical SRCPSP, a decision-maker attempts to obtain a feasible schedule of project tasks such that: (i) their temporal/precedence relationships are satisfied; (ii) the available resource capacity is not exceeded in each time period; and (iii) the expected project makespan is minimized. Using the developed modeling and solution methodologies, it is our goal to enhance the quality of decision support for scheduling complex large-scale projects in military, manufacturing, construction and professional service sectors.

There is no doubt that the most important activity In schools and universities is conducting classes and lectures to their students. Preparation of timetables is a major task confronted by the management every year. A lot of time is spent on this exercise, yet the end result would be far from satisfactory. In this paper, we draw attention to the different approaches of solution to this problem and the need to look for new directions of research.

Traffic congestion are among the most important issue that a country needs to confront due to increasing volume of vehicles around the world, particularly in the large urban areas. As a result, the requirement begins for modeling and improving traffic management procedures to improve the growing need. In order to address traffic problems in urban areas a smart traffic management method is the need of time. The solution in this paper is found through the dimensions of traffic mass on the roads. The core objective of this paper is to highlight latest techniques algorithm which has been used for scheduling traffic lights and a comparison based on achieved accuracy.

Intelligent perturbation algorithms for space scheduling optimization are presented in the form of the viewgraphs. The following subject areas are covered: optimization of planning, scheduling, and manifesting; searching a discrete configuration space; heuristic algorithms used for optimization; use of heuristic methods on a sample scheduling problem; intelligent perturbation algorithms are iterative refinement techniques; properties of a good iterative search operator; dispatching examples of intelligent perturbation algorithm and perturbation operator attributes; scheduling implementations using intelligent perturbation algorithms; major advances in scheduling capabilities; the prototype ISF (industrial Space Facility) experiment scheduler; optimized schedule (max revenue); multi-variable optimization; Space Station design reference mission scheduling; ISF-TDRSS command scheduling demonstration; and example task - communications check.

Stochastic scheduling problems are difficult stochastic control problems with combinatorial decision spaces. In this paper we focus on a class of stochastic scheduling problems, the quiz problem and its variations. We discuss the use of heuristics for their solution, and we propose rollout algorithms based on these heuristics, which approximate the stochastic dynamic programming algorithm. We show how the rollout algorithms can be implemented efficiently, and we delineate circumstances under which they are guaranteed to perform better than the heuristics on which they are based. We also show computational results which suggest that the performance of the rollout policies is near-optimal, and is substantially better than the performance of their underlying heuristics.

The allocation of processes to processors has long been of interest to engineers. The processor allocation problem considered here assigns multiple applications onto a computing system. With this algorithm researchers could more efficiently examine real-time sensor data like that used by United States Air Force digital signal processing efforts or real-time aerosol hazard detection as examined by the Department of Homeland Security. Different choices for the design of a load balancing algorithm are examined in both the problem and algorithm domains. Evolutionary algorithms are used to find near-optimal solutions. These algorithms incorporate multiobjective coevolutionary and parallel principles to create an effective and efficient algorithm for real-world allocation problems. Three evolutionary algorithms (EA) are developed. The primary algorithm generates a solution to the processor allocation problem. This allocation EA is capable of evaluating objectives in both an aggregate single objective and a Pareto multiobjective manner. The other two EAs are designed for fine turning returned allocation EA solutions. One coevolutionary algorithm is used to optimize the parameters of the allocation algorithm. This meta-EA is parallelized using a coarse-grain approach to improve performance. Experiments are conducted that validate the improved effectiveness of the parallelized algorithm. Pareto multiobjective approach is used to optimize both effectiveness and efficiency objectives. The other coevolutionary algorithm generates difficult allocation problems for testing the capabilities of the allocation EA. The effectiveness of both coevolutionary algorithms for optimizing the allocation EA is examined quantitatively using standard statistical methods. Also the allocation EAs objective tradeoffs are analyzed and compared.

This paper discusses problems that arose in calendaring cases for an appellate court. The first problem is to distribute cases among panels of judges so as to equalize work loads. We give a worst case analysis of a heuristic for this NP-complete problem. For a given distribution denote by z the heaviest work load. We wish to minimize z. The ratio of the heuristic value z-bar to that of the true optimum z* is shown to be z-bar/z* or = (k + 3)/(k + 2) where all the case weights in (0, (1/k)z*), generalizing a result of Graham on multiprocessor scheduling. Under a restrictive assumption on the case weights, some generalizations of this scheduling problem are solved. Characterizations for feasible calendars and polynomial algorithms for finding these feasible solutions are given. Algorithms are given for choosing an optimal subset of the backlogged cases that can be calendared. (Author)

We have a set of processors (or agents) and a set of graph networks defined over some vertex set. Each processor can access a subset of the graph networks. Each processor has a demand specified as a pair of vertices $ $, along with a profit; the processor wishes to send data between $u$ and $v$. Towards that goal, the processor needs to select a graph network accessible to it and a path connecting $u$ and $v$ within the selected network. The processor requires exclusive access to the chosen path, in order to route the data. Thus, the processors are competing for routes/channels. A feasible solution selects a subset of demands and schedules each selected demand on a graph network accessible to the processor owning the demand; the solution also specifies the paths to use for this purpose. The requirement is that for any two demands scheduled on the same graph network, their chosen paths must be edge disjoint. The goal is to output a solution having the maximum aggregate profit. Prior work has addressed the above problem in a distibuted setting for the special case where all the graph networks are simply paths (i.e, line-networks). Distributed constant factor approximation algorithms are known for this case. The main contributions of this paper are twofold. First we design a distributed constant factor approximation algorithm for the more general case of tree-networks. The core component of our algorithm is a tree-decomposition technique, which may be of independent interest. Secondly, for the case of line-networks, we improve the known approximation guarantees by a factor of 5. Our algorithms can also handle the capacitated scenario, wherein the demands and edges have bandwidth requirements and capacities, respectively.

We have a set of processors (or agents) and a set of graph networks defined over some vertex set. Each processor can access a subset of the graph networks. Each processor has a demand specified as a pair of vertices $ $, along with a profit; the processor wishes to send data between $u$ and $v$. Towards that goal, the processor needs to select a graph network accessible to it and a path connecting $u$ and $v$ within the selected network. The processor requires exclusive access to the chosen path, in order to route the data. Thus, the processors are competing for routes/channels. A feasible solution selects a subset of demands and schedules each selected demand on a graph network accessible to the processor owning the demand; the solution also specifies the paths to use for this purpose. The requirement is that for any two demands scheduled on the same graph network, their chosen paths must be edge disjoint. The goal is to output a solution having the maximum aggregate profit. Prior work has addressed the above problem in a distibuted setting for the special case where all the graph networks are simply paths (i.e, line-networks). Distributed constant factor approximation algorithms are known for this case. The main contributions of this paper are twofold. First we design a distributed constant factor approximation algorithm for the more general case of tree-networks. The core component of our algorithm is a tree-decomposition technique, which may be of independent interest. Secondly, for the case of line-networks, we improve the known approximation guarantees by a factor of 5. Our algorithms can also handle the capacitated scenario, wherein the demands and edges have bandwidth requirements and capacities, respectively.

Evolutionary algorithms have been frequently used for dynamic optimization problems. With this paper, we contribute to the theoretical understanding of this research area. We present the first computational complexity analysis of evolutionary algorithms for a dynamic variant of a classical combinatorial optimization problem, namely makespan scheduling. We study the model of a strong adversary which is allowed to change one job at regular intervals. Furthermore, we investigate the setting of random changes. Our results show that randomized local search and a simple evolutionary algorithm are very effective in dynamically tracking changes made to the problem instance.

This paper investigates co-scheduling algorithms for processing a set of parallel applications. Instead of executing each application one by one, using a maximum degree of parallelism for each of them, we aim at scheduling several applications concurrently. We partition the original application set into a series of packs, which are executed one by one. A pack comprises several applications, each of them with an assigned number of processors, with the constraint that the total number of processors assigned within a pack does not exceed the maximum number of available processors. The objective is to determine a partition into packs, and an assignment of processors to applications, that minimize the sum of the execution times of the packs. We thoroughly study the complexity of this optimization problem, and propose several heuristics that exhibit very good performance on a variety of workloads, whose application execution times model profiles of parallel scientific codes. We show that co-scheduling leads to to faster workload completion time and to faster response times on average (hence increasing system throughput and saving energy), for significant benefits over traditional scheduling from both the user and system perspectives.

Most classical scheduling formulations assume a fixed and known duration for each activity. In this paper, we weaken this assumption, requiring instead that each duration can be represented by an independent random variable with a known mean and variance. The best solutions are ones which have a high probability of achieving a good makespan. We first create a theoretical framework, formally showing how Monte Carlo simulation can be combined with deterministic scheduling algorithms to solve this problem. We propose an associated deterministic scheduling problem whose solution is proved, under certain conditions, to be a lower bound for the probabilistic problem. We then propose and investigate a number of techniques for solving such problems based on combinations of Monte Carlo simulation, solutions to the associated deterministic problem, and either constraint programming or tabu search. Our empirical results demonstrate that a combination of the use of the associated deterministic problem and Monte Carlo simulation results in algorithms that scale best both in terms of problem size and uncertainty. Further experiments point to the correlation between the quality of the deterministic solution and the quality of the probabilistic solution as a major factor responsible for this success.

A prototype system employing a genetic algorithm (GA) has been developed to support the scheduling of the Hubble Space Telescope. A non-standard knowledge structure is used and appropriate genetic operators have been created. Several different crossover styles (random point selection, evolving points, and smart point selection) are tested and the best GA is compared with a neural network (NN) based optimizer. The smart crossover operator produces the best results and the GA system is able to evolve complete schedules using it. The GA is not as time-efficient as the NN system and the NN solutions tend to be better.

We introduce and study a general scheduling problem that we term the Packing Scheduling problem. In this problem, jobs can have different arrival times and sizes; a scheduler can process job $j$ at rate $x_j$, subject to arbitrary packing constraints over the set of rates ($\vec{x}$) of the outstanding jobs. The PSP framework captures a variety of scheduling problems, including the classical problems of unrelated machines scheduling, broadcast scheduling, and scheduling jobs of different parallelizability. It also captures scheduling constraints arising in diverse modern environments ranging from individual computer architectures to data centers. More concretely, PSP models multidimensional resource requirements and parallelizability, as well as network bandwidth requirements found in data center scheduling. In this paper, we design non-clairvoyant online algorithms for PSP and its special cases -- in this setting, the scheduler is unaware of the sizes of jobs. Our two main results are, 1) a constant competitive algorithm for minimizing total weighted completion time for PSP and 2)a scalable algorithm for minimizing the total flow-time on unrelated machines, which is a special case of PSP.

Motivated by applications in grid computing and project management, we study multiprocessor scheduling in scenarios where there is uncertainty in the successful execution of jobs when assigned to processors. We consider the problem of multiprocessor scheduling under uncertainty, in which we are given n unit-time jobs and m machines, a directed acyclic graph C giving the dependencies among the jobs, and for every job j and machine i, the probability p_{ij} of the successful completion of job j when scheduled on machine i in any given particular step. The goal of the problem is to find a schedule that minimizes the expected makespan, that is, the expected completion time of all the jobs. The problem of multiprocessor scheduling under uncertainty was introduced by Malewicz and was shown to be NP-hard even when all the jobs are independent. In this paper, we present polynomial-time approximation algorithms for the problem, for special cases of the dag C. We obtain an O(log(n))-approximation for the case of independent jobs, an O(log(m)log(n)log(n+m)/loglog(n+m))-approximation when C is a collection of disjoint chains, an O(log(m)log^2(n))-approximation when C is a collection of directed out- or in-trees, and an O(log(m)log^2(n)log(n+m)/loglog(n+m))-approximation when C is a directed forest.

16 p. 28 cm

The Time Warp multiprocessing scheme promises speed-up for object- oriented discrete-event simulation. The Concurrent Processing for Advanced Simulation project has constructed a LISP-based Time Warp system for implementing simulations with many large, complex objects. Since many objects share a single processor, the CPU time allocated to each object must be scheduled. Since object events are not preempted, the authors are scheduling which objects have events process rather than CPU time per object. They developed approaches to scheduling, ranging from a simple round-robin mechanism to complex ones involving queue length. The authors developed ten different scheduling algorithms which they named: Worst Case, Conventional Round Robin, Lowest Local Virtual Time (LVT) First, Priority LVT, Largest Queue Priority, Bradford/Fitch, Anti-Penalty, Queue Anti-Penalty, Queue Cycle, and Positive Infinity. Results show that LVT, anti-messages, rollbacks, returned messages, and anti-reminders are good parameters for scheduling of system resources. Input queue size is also an important factor, but when taken with or without LVT, it does not produce results at good as using LVT alone. The round-robin scheduler was one of the worst performers. The poor performance of the simple round-robin scheduler indicates the advantages of using state information to determine the scheduling order in the Time Warp system. Benchmarks of the schedulers showed that the Anti-Penalty scheduler performed better than the others. The Anti- Penalty algorithm is based on a composite measure of simulation advance rate, flow control, and the appearance of specific message types. Computerized Simulation, Multiprocessors, Scheduling, Algorithms.

We obtain fast parallel algorithms for several scheduling problems. Some of the problems considered are: scheduling to minimize the number of tardy jobs; job sequencing with deadlines; scheduling to minimize earliness and tardiness penalties; channel assignment; and minimizing the mean finish time. The shared memory model of parallel computers is used. (Author)