基于经济模型的资源代理

网格计算是为解决大规模资源密集型问题而提出的新一代计算平台,是当前并行和分布处理技术的一个发展方向,而资源管理是计算网格的关键技术之一。对各种各样可利用资源的整合和管理是网格应用的基础,而资源的分布性、动态性、异构性、自治性和需要协调一致性使得网格资源的管理调度成为一个棘手的问题。目前基于市场的经济资源管理和调度算法非常适合计算网格中的资源管理问题,但有调度价格不能更改、负载平衡等问题。文中提出了“网格环境下基于经济模型的资源代理”,依靠多维QoS指导的调度策略和经济模型的启发式调节资源价格,改进和优化计算网格资源的分配。     

The Virtual Laboratory: a toolset to enable distributed molecular modelling for drug design on the World‐Wide Grid

Computational Grids are emerging as a new paradigm for sharing and aggregation of geographically distributed resources for solving large‐scale compute and data intensive problems in science, engineering and commerce. However, application development, resource management and scheduling in these environments is a complex undertaking. In this paper, we illustrate the development of a Virtual Laboratory environment by leveraging existing Grid technologies to enable molecular modelling for drug design on geographically distributed resources. It involves screening millions of compounds in the chemical database (CDB) against a protein target to identify those with potential use for drug design. We have used the Nimrod‐G parameter specification language to transform the existing molecular docking application into a parameter sweep application for executing on distributed systems. We have developed new tools for enabling access to ligand records/molecules in the CDB from remote resources. The Nimrod‐G resource broker along with molecule CDB data broker is used for scheduling and on‐demand processing of docking jobs on the World‐Wide Grid (WWG) resources. The results demonstrate the ease of use and power of the Nimrod‐G and virtual laboratory tools for grid computing. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From volunteer to trustable computing: Providing QoS-aware scheduling mechanisms for multi-grid computing environments

The exploitation of service oriented technologies, such as Grid computing, is being boosted by the current service oriented economy trend, leading to a growing need of Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms. However, Grid computing was created to provide vast amounts of computational power but in a best effort way. Providing QoS guarantees is therefore a very difficult and complex task due to the distributed and heterogeneous nature of their resources, specially the volunteer computing resources (e.g., desktop resources).The scope of this paper is to empower an integrated multi QoS support suitable for Grid Computing environments made of either dedicated and volunteer resources, even taking advantage of that fact. The QoS is provided through SLAs by exploiting different available scheduling mechanisms in a coordinated way, and applying appropriate resource usage optimization techniques. It is based on the differentiated use of reservations and scheduling in advance techniques, enhanced with the integration of rescheduling techniques that improve the allocation decisions already made, achieving a higher resource utilization and still ensuring the agreed QoS. As a result, our proposal enhances best-effort Grid environments by providing QoS aware scheduling capabilities.This proposal has been validated by means of a set of experiments performed in a real Grid testbed. Results show how the proposed framework effectively harnesses the specific capabilities of the underlying resources to provide every user with the desired QoS level, while, at the same time, optimizing the resources’ usage.     

QoS guided Min-Min heuristic for grid task scheduling

Task scheduling is an integrated component of computing.With the emergence of Grid and ubiquitous computing,new challenges appear in task scheduling based on properties such as security,quality of service,and lack of central control within distributed administrative domains.A Grid task scheduling framework must be able to deal with these issues.One of the goals of Grid task scheduling is to achivev high system throughput while matching applications with the available computing resources.This matching of resources in a non-deterministically shared heterogeneous environment leads to concerns over Quality of Service (QoS).In this paper a novel QoS guided task scheduling algorithm for Grid computing is introduced.The proposed novel algorithm is based on a general adaptive scheduling heuristics that includes QoS guidance.The algorithm is evaluated within a simulated Grid environment.The experimental results show that the nwe QoS guided Min-Min heuristic can lead to significant performance gain for a variety of applications.The approach is compared with others based on the quality of the prediction formulated by inaccurate information.     

Semantic-enabled CARE Resource Broker (SeCRB) for managing grid and cloud environment

Grid computing is mainly helpful for executing high-performance computing applications. However, conventional grid resources sometimes fail to offer a dynamic application execution environment and this increases the rate at which the job requests of users are rejected. Integrating emerging virtualization technologies in grid and cloud computing facilitates the provision of dynamic virtual resources in the required execution environment. Resource brokers play a significant role in managing grid and cloud resources as well as identifying potential resources that satisfy users’ application requests. This research paper proposes a semantic-enabled CARE Resource Broker (SeCRB) that provides a common framework to describe grid and cloud resources, and to discover them in an intelligent manner by considering software, hardware and quality of service (QoS) requirements. The proposed semantic resource discovery mechanism classifies the resources into three categories viz., exact, high-similarity subsume and high-similarity plug-in regions. To achieve the necessary user QoS requirements, we have included a service level agreement (SLA) negotiation mechanism that pairs users’ QoS requirements with matching resources to guarantee the execution of applications, and to achieve the desired QoS of users. Finally, we have implemented the QoS-based resource scheduling mechanism that selects the resources from the SLA negotiation accepted list in an optimal manner. The proposed work is simulated and evaluated by submitting real-world bio-informatics and image processing application for various test cases. The result of the experiment shows that for jobs submitted to the resource broker, job rejection rate is reduced while job success and scheduling rates are increased, thus making the resource management system more efficient.     

基于云理论的网格资源选择

资源选择是影响网格调度和系统效率的关键,针对网格资源选择中用户对服务质量(QoS)的定性描述和调度的自私性,提出了利用云理论实现资源选择的方法。在深入分析QoS参数的云理论模型基础上,提出了以资源代理实现云模型资源选择的体系结构,设计了相应的调度算法。实验表明,该算法在资源调度率和吞吐量以及系统资源的利用效率等方面体现出良好的特性,同时克服了用户定义QoS参数的困难,达到了优化调度的目的。     

An ant algorithm for balanced job scheduling in grids

Grid computing utilizes the distributed heterogeneous resources in order to support complicated computing problems. Grid can be classified into two types: computing grid and data grid. Job scheduling in computing grid is a very important problem. To utilize grids efficiently, we need a good job scheduling algorithm to assign jobs to resources in grids.In the natural environment, the ants have a tremendous ability to team up to find an optimal path to food resources. An ant algorithm simulates the behavior of ants. In this paper, we propose a Balanced Ant Colony Optimization (BACO) algorithm for job scheduling in the Grid environment. The main contributions of our work are to balance the entire system load while trying to minimize the makespan of a given set of jobs. Compared with the other job scheduling algorithms, BACO can outperform them according to the experimental results.     

基于计算经济的网格资源管理研究

网格是为解决大规模资源密集型问题而提出的新一代计算平台,资源管理是网格的关键技术之一。但是,资源的分布性、异构性、自治性、动态性等使得网格资源的管理变得异常复杂。目前,基于市场的经济资源管理和调度算法非常适合解决网格中的资源管理问题。本文提出了网格环境下基于经济模型的各种代理,给出了一种新的资源管理模型
型,并定义了效用函数,给出了基于效用最优的资源调度算法。为解决网格资源管理的问题提供了一个有效的途径。     

Online algorithms for advance resource reservations

We consider the problem of providing QoS guarantees to Grid users through advance reservation of resources. Advance reservation mechanisms provide the ability to allocate resources to users based on agreed-upon QoS requirements and increase the predictability of a Grid system, yet incorporating such mechanisms into current Grid environments has proven to be a challenging task due to the resulting resource fragmentation. We use concepts from computational geometry to present a framework for tackling the resource fragmentation, and for formulating a suite of scheduling strategies. We also develop efficient implementations of the scheduling algorithms that scale to large Grids. We conduct a comprehensive performance evaluation study using simulation, and we present numerical results to demonstrate that our strategies perform well across several metrics that reflect both user- and system-specific goals. Our main contribution is a timely, practical, and efficient solution to the problem of scheduling resources in emerging on-demand computing environments.     

Cooperative power-aware scheduling in grid computing environments

Energy usage and its associated costs have taken on a new level of significance in recent years. Globally, energy costs that include the cooling of server rooms are now comparable to hardware costs, and these costs are on the increase with the rising cost of energy. As a result, there are efforts worldwide to design more efficient scheduling algorithms. Such scheduling algorithm for grids is further complicated by the fact that the different sites in a grid system are likely to have different ownerships. As such, it is not enough to simply minimize the total energy usage in the grid; instead one needs to simultaneously minimize energy usage between all the different providers in the grid. Apart from the multitude of ownerships of the different sites, a grid differs from traditional high performance computing systems in the heterogeneity of the computing nodes as well as the communication links that connect the different nodes together. In this paper, we propose a cooperative, power-aware game theoretic solution to the job scheduling problem in grids. We discuss our cooperative game model and present the structure of the Nash Bargaining Solution. Our proposed scheduling scheme maintains a specified Quality of Service (QoS) level and minimizes energy usage between all the providers simultaneously; energy usage is kept at a level that is sufficient to maintain the desired QoS level. Further, the proposed algorithm is fair to all users, and has robust performance against inaccuracies in performance prediction information.     

Analysis and Provision of QoS for Distributed Grid Applications

Grid computing provides the infrastructure necessary to access and use distributed resources as part of virtual organizations. When used in this way, Grid computing makes it possible for users to participate in collaborative and distributed applications such as tele-immersion, visualization, and computational simulation. Some of these applications operate in a collaborative mode, requiring data to be stored and delivered in a timely manner. This class of applications must adhere to stringent real-time constraints and Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements. A QoS management approach is therefore required to orchestrate and guarantee the timely interaction between such applications and services. We discuss the design and a prototype implementation of a QoS system, and demonstrate how we enable Grid applications to become QoS compliant. We validate this approach through a case study of an image processing task derived from a nanoscale structures application.     

An optimization approach for decentralized QoS‐based scheduling based on utility and pricing in Grid computing

This paper presents an optimization approach for decentralized Quality of Service (QoS)‐based scheduling based on utility and pricing in Grid computing. The paper assumes that the quality dimensions can be easily formulated as utility functions to express quality preferences for each task agent. The utility values are calculated by the user‐supplied utility function that can be formulated with the task parameters. The QoS constraint Grid resource scheduling problem is formulated into a utility optimization problem. The QoS‐based Grid resource scheduling optimization is decomposed into two subproblems by applying the Lagrangian method. In the Grid, a Grid task agent acts as a consumer paying for the Grid resource and the resource providers receive profits from task agents. A pricing‐based QoS scheduling algorithm is used to perform optimally decentralized QoS‐based resource scheduling. The experiments investigate the effect of the QoS metrics on the global utility and compare the performance of the proposed algorithm with other economical Grid resource scheduling algorithms. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Utility-based QoS optimisation strategy for multi-criteria scheduling on the grid

The paper presents quality of service (QoS) optimisation strategy for multi-criteria scheduling on the grid, based on a mathematical QoS model and a distributed iterative algorithm. Three QoS criteria are considered, namely payment, deadline and reliability, which are formulated as utility function. The optimisation problem is split into two parts: task optimisation performed on behalf of the user and resource optimisation performed on behalf of the grid. The strategy employs three types of agents: task agents responsible for task optimisation, computation resource and network resource agents responsible for resource optimisation. The agents apply economic models for optimisation purposes. Dynamic programming is used to optimise the total system utility function in terms of an iterative algorithm. The objective of multi-criteria scheduling is to maximise the global utility of the system. This paper proposes an iterative scheduling algorithm that is used to perform QoS optimisation-based multi-criteria scheduling. The proposed QoS optimisation-based multi-criteria scheduling problem solution has been practically examined by simulation experiments.     

Flexible Grid service management through resource partitioning

In this paper, a distributed and scalable Grid service management architecture is presented. The proposed architecture is capable of monitoring task submission behaviour and deriving Grid service class characteristics, for use in performing automated computational, storage and network resource-to-service partitioning. This partitioning of Grid resources amongst service classes (each service class is assigned exclusive usage of a distinct subset of the available Grid resources), along with the dynamic deployment of Grid management components dedicated and tuned to the requirements of a particular service class introduces the concept of Virtual Private Grids. We present two distinct algorithmic approaches for the resource partitioning problem, the first based on Divisible Load Theory (DLT) and the second built on Genetic Algorithms (GA). The advantages and drawbacks of each approach are discussed and their performance is evaluated on a sample Grid topology using NSGrid, an ns-2 based Grid simulator. Results show that the use of this Service Management Architecture in combination with the proposed algorithms improves computational and network resource efficiency, simplifies schedule making decisions, reduces the overall complexity of managing the Grid system, and at the same time improves Grid QoS support (with regard to job response times) by automatically assigning Grid resources to the different service classes prior to scheduling.     

Design and implementation of a workflow-based resource broker with information system on computational grids

The grid is a promising infrastructure that can allow scientists and engineers to access resources among geographically distributed environments. Grid computing is a new technology which focuses on aggregating resources (e.g., processor cycles, disk storage, and contents) from a large-scale computing platform. Making grid computing a reality requires a resource broker to manage and monitor available resources. This paper presents a workflow-based resource broker whose main functions are matching available resources with user requests and considering network information statuses during matchmaking in computational grids. The resource broker provides a graphic user interface for accessing available and the appropriate resources via user credentials. This broker uses the Ganglia and NWS tools to monitor resource status and network-related information, respectively. Then we propose a history-based execution time estimation model to predict the execution time of parallel applications, according to previous execution results. The experimental results show that our model can accurately predict the execution time of embarrassingly parallel applications. We also report on using the Globus Toolkit to construct a grid platform called the TIGER project that integrates resources distributed across five universities in Taichung city, Taiwan, where the resource broker was developed.

高性能计算系统中的服务质量研究

高性能计算系统的资源管理以集群作业管理为主,这种粗粒度的管理方式缺乏有效的作业资源控制手段,不能准确了解作业的资源需求,在一定程度上仍然不可避免计算资源的浪费.针对高性能计算系统中高效利用系统计算资源的问题,提出并实现了基于操作系统的QoS服务质量框架,对作业资源使用进行细粒度的统计与控制,实现了资源的动态控制与协商机制,完善作业加载与调度策略,在高效利用系统资源方面取得了较好的应用效果.     

网格服务调度算法分布式部署和QoS性能分析

网格是一种复杂的分布式计算系统,研究其网格服务对网格作业的调度算法的分布式部署和性能分析问题具有重要的意义。网格服务调度系统的状态空间模型考虑了具有不同的输入速率和输出速率的作业队列,提出了清空型调度策略和服务调度算法,并在此基础上分析了其分布式部署问题,计算了系统QoS性能指标,指出了稳态吞吐量、稳态响应时间与负载系数的关系。     

面向移动机器人分布式计算的任务调度方法

针对移动机器人导航控制中信息处理量大、任务多的情况,提出了一个适用于移动机器人的分布式计算框架,并在此框架的基础上设计了一种任务调度方法——GMBSA,该方法以资源代理为基础,首先对任务执行时间进行预测,然后运用遗传算法结合多队列Backfilling方法进行任务调度,达到最小化任务执行时间的要求,最终实现资源的优化分配,满足了机器人导航控制中的实时性要求。该文采用实验室构建的分布式计算环境对GMBSA的性能进行了测试,并比较了轻重负载情况下GMBSA,多队列Backfilling和FCFS 3种调度方案的性能差异。     

Dynamic workload balancing of parallel applications with user-level scheduling on the Grid

This paper suggests a hybrid resource management approach for efficient parallel distributed computing on the Grid. It operates on both application and system levels, combining user-level job scheduling with dynamic workload balancing algorithm that automatically adapts a parallel application to the heterogeneous resources, based on the actual resource parameters and estimated requirements of the application. The hybrid environment and the algorithm for automated load balancing are described, the influence of resource heterogeneity level is measured, and the speedup achieved with this technique is demonstrated for different types of applications and resources.     

The DataGrid Workload Management System: Challenges and Results

The workload management task of the DataGrid project was mandated to define and implement a suitable architecture for distributed scheduling and resource management in a Grid environment. The result was the design and implementation of a Grid Workload Management System, a super-scheduler with the distinguishing property of being able to take data access requirements into account when scheduling jobs to the available Grid resources. Many novel issues in various fields were faced such as resource management, resource reservation and co-allocation, Grid accounting. In this paper, the architecture and the functionality provided by the DataGrid Workload Management System are presented.