Bandwidth allocation and scheduling of networked control systems with exponential and quadratic approximations

This paper investigates bandwidth allocation and scheduling of networked control systems (NCSs) with nonlinear-programming techniques. The bandwidth utilization (BU) is defined in terms of sampling frequency. An exponential and a quadratic approximation are formulated to describe system performance versus the sampling frequencies. The optimal sampling frequencies are obtained by solving the approximations with Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) conditions. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed approximations and scheduling algorithms. The two approximations could find an optimal BU of an NCS with a given sequence of plants and maximize the total BU up to 98% of the total available bandwidth.     

基于分布式网络资源的网络带宽分配方法

本文针对计算机网络资源的带宽分配问题提出一种分配求解方法,该方法根据用户提出的带宽资源需求和系统可用资源的状况,按用户满意度最佳和系统效率最佳的原则制订价格,并通过用户的价格参数进行带宽资源的协商与分配.分析表明,该方法可以达到优化系统效率和提高用户满意度的目标.     

A Survey of Various Schedulers Used for Fair Bandwidth Allocation in WiMAX: IEEE 802.16

ABSTRACT

Wireless Interoperability for Multiple Access (WiMAX) is one of the emerging fields of high-speed wireless communication that has enormous capabilities due to its range and the connection speed. Like wireless local area networks (LANs), WiMAX networks implement multiple quality of service (QoS) frameworks at the Media Access Control (MAC) level for assured data, voice, and video services. The question of ensuring QoS is basically how to distribute available resources to users in order to satisfy QoS parameters such as latency, jitter and throughput requirements. IEEE 802.16 standard does not have any particular guidelines on scheduling of incoming and outgoing data. This has caught the attention of researchers working on WiMAX. This article discusses the various issues in WiMAX along with a classification of various scheduling approaches based upon the type of scheduler for the sake of better understanding the scheduling problem and analyzing various available theories.     

Heavy traffic optimal resource allocation algorithms for cloud computing clusters

Cloud computing is emerging as an important platform for business, personal and mobile computing applications. In this paper, we study a stochastic model of cloud computing, where jobs arrive according to a stochastic process and request resources like CPU, memory and storage space. We consider a model where the resource allocation problem can be separated into a routing or load balancing problem and a scheduling problem. We study the join-the-shortest-queue routing and power-of-two-choices routing algorithms with the MaxWeight scheduling algorithm. It was known that these algorithms are throughput optimal. In this paper, we show that these algorithms are queue length optimal in the heavy traffic limit.     

Beam search algorithms for the single machine total weighted tardiness scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setups

In this paper, we consider the single machine weighted tardiness scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setups. We present heuristic algorithms based on the beam search technique. These algorithms include classic beam search procedures, as well as the filtered and recovering variants. Previous beam search implementations use fixed beam and filter widths. We consider the usual fixed width algorithms, and develop new versions that use variable beam and filter widths.     

Fully polynomial time approximation scheme for the weighted flow-time minimization on a single machine with a fixed non-availability interval

In a recent paper [Theoretical Computer Science 363, 257–265], He, Zhong and Gu considered the non-resumable case of the scheduling problem with a fixed non-availability interval under the non-resumable scenario. They proposed a polynomial time approximation scheme (PTAS) to minimize the total completion time.In this paper, we propose a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme to minimize the total weighted completion time. The FPTAS has O(n²/ε²) time complexity, where n is the number of jobs and ε is the required error bound. The proposed FPTAS outperforms all the previous approximation algorithms designed for this problem and its running time is strongly polynomial.     

An efficient Nash-implementation mechanism for network resource allocation

We propose a mechanism for auctioning bundles of multiple divisible goods in a network where buyers want the same amount of bandwidth on each link in their route. Buyers can specify multiple routes (corresponding to a source-destination pair). The total flow can then be split among these multiple routes. We first propose a one-sided VCG-type mechanism. Players do not report a full valuation function but only a two-dimensional bid signal: the maximum quantity that they want and the per-unit price they are willing to pay. The proposed mechanism is a weak Nash implementation, i.e., it has a non-unique Nash equilibrium that implements the social-welfare maximizing allocation. We show the existence of an efficient Nash equilibrium in the corresponding auction game, though there may exist other Nash equilibria that are not efficient. We then generalize this to arbitrary bundles of various goods. Each buyer submits a bid separately for each good but their utility function is a general function of allocations of bundles of various divisible goods. We then present a double-sided auction mechanism for multiple divisible goods. We show that there exists a Nash equilibrium of this auction game which yields the efficient allocation with strong budget balance.     

New measures of weighted fuzzy entropy and their applications for the study of maximum weighted fuzzy entropy principle

Keeping in view the non-probabilistic nature of experiments, two new measures of weighted fuzzy entropy have been introduced and to check their authenticity, the essential properties of these measures have been studied. Under the fact that measures of entropy can be used for the study of optimization principles when certain partial information is available, we have applied the existing as well as the newly introduced weighted measures of fuzzy entropy to study the maximum entropy principle.     

一种适用于宽带无线多媒体网络的上行带宽分配方案

提出了一种适用于宽带无线多媒体网络的上行无线带宽分配方案。该方案将业务数据分为3种类型,即实时恒定速率业务、恒定变速率业务、非实时业务,针对不同业务对时延和带宽的不同需求,采取不同的方法获取上行带宽,较好地解决了多业务并发时的上行带宽分配问题,较传统技术提高了带宽利用率,减少了协议开销和传输时延。在详细描述算法的基础上,建立了对应的仿真系统对算法进行了验证。     

Evolutionary algorithms for route selection and rate allocation in multirate multicast networks

In multirate multicasting, different users (receivers) in the same multicast group can receive service at different rates, depending on the user requirements and the network congestion level. Compared with unirate multicasting, this provides more flexibility to the users and allows more efficient usage of the network resources. In this paper, we simultaneously address the route selection and rate allocation problem in multirate multicast networks; that is, the problem of constructing multiple multicast trees and simultaneously allocating the rate of receivers for maximizing the sum of utilities over all receivers, subject to link capacity and delay constraints for high-bandwidth delay-sensitive applications in point-to-point communication networks. We propose a genetic algorithm for this problem and elaborate on many of the elements in order to improve solution quality and computational efficiency in applying the proposed methods to the problem. These include the genetic representation, evaluation function, genetic operators, and procedure. Additionally, a new method using an artificial intelligent search technique, called the coevolutionary algorithm, is proposed to achieve better solutions, and methods of selecting environmental individuals and evaluating fitness are developed. The results of extensive computational simulations show that the proposed algorithms provide high-quality solutions and outperform existing approach.     

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.     

The symbolic algorithms for maximum flow in networks

The maximum flow problem is one of the classic combinatorial optimization problems with many applications, such as electrical powers, traffics, communications, computer networks and logistics. The problem is to find a flow of maximum value on a network from a source to a sink. Ordered binary decision diagram (OBDD) is a canonical form to represent and manipulate the Boolean functions efficiently. OBDD-based symbolic algorithms appear to give improved results for large-scale combinatorial optimization problems by searching the nodes and edges implicitly. For the maximum flow problem in networks, we present the symbolic algebraic decision diagram (ADD) formulation and symbolic algorithms. The augmenting-path-based symbolic algorithm is the combination of the Gabow's scaling algorithm with the binary decision diagram (BDD)-based symbolic algorithm for the maximum flow in 0–1 networks. The Karzanov's algorithm is implemented implicitly, resulting in the preflow-based symbolic algorithm (PSA), in which the vertices on each layer of the layered networks are partitioned by the vertex's input preflow and the total capacity of its outgoing edges, and the edges to push or pull the preflow are selected in terms of the priority function. The improved PSA is developed by integrating the heuristic of Träff's algorithm and the assistant layered networks into the PSA. The symbolic algorithms do not require explicit enumeration of the nodes and edges, and therefore can handle large-scale networks.     

A simulated annealing algorithm based on block properties for the job shop scheduling problem with total weighted tardinessobjective

In modern manufacturing systems, due date related performance is becoming increasingly important in maintaining a high service reputation. However, compared with the extensive research on makespan minimization, research on the total weighted tardiness objective is comparatively scarce, partly because this objective function is more difficult and complex to optimize. In this paper, we focus on the job shop scheduling problem with the objective of minimizing total weighted tardiness. First, we discuss the mathematical programming model and its duality when the processing orders for each machine are fixed. Then, a block-based neighborhood structure is defined and its important properties are shown. Finally, a simulated annealing algorithm is designed which directly utilizes the features of this neighborhood. According to the computational results, the new neighborhood considerably promotes the searching capability of simulated annealing and helps it converge to high-quality solutions.     

Comparison of selected algorithms for scheduling workflow applications with dynamically changing service availability

This paper compares the quality and execution times of several algorithms for scheduling service based workflow applications with changeable service availability and parameters. A workflow is defined as an acyclic directed graph with nodes corresponding to tasks and edges to dependencies between tasks. For each task, one out of several available services needs to be chosen and scheduled to minimize the workflow execution time and keep the cost of service within the budget. During the execution ofa workflow, some services may become unavailable, new ones may appear, and costs and execution times may change with a certain probability. Rescheduling is needed to obtain a better schedule. A solution is proposed on how integer linear pro- gramming can be used to solve this problem to obtain optimal solutions for smaller problems or suboptimal solutions for larger ones. It is compared side-by-side with GAIN, divide-and-conquer, and genetic algorithms for various probabilities of service unavailability or change in service parameters. The algorithms are implemented and subsequently tested in a real BeesyCluster environment.     

Efficient non-population-based algorithms for the permutation flowshop scheduling problem with makespan minimisation subject to a maximum tardiness

This paper focuses on the problem of scheduling jobs in a permutation flowshop with the objective of makespan minimisation subject to a maximum allowed tardiness for the jobs, a problem that combines two desirable manufacturing objectives related to machine utilisation and to customer satisfaction. Although several approximate algorithms have been proposed for this NP-hard problem, none of them can use the excellent speed-up method by Taillard (1990) [22] for makespan minimisation due to the special structure of the problem under consideration. In this paper, several properties of the problem are defined in order to be able to partly apply Taillard׳s acceleration. This mechanism, together with a novel feasible tabu local search method, allows us to further exploit the structure of solutions of the problem, and are incorporated in two proposed algorithms: a bounded-insertion-based constructive heuristic and an advanced non-population-based algorithm. These algorithms are compared with state-of-the-art algorithms under the same computer conditions. The results show that both algorithms improve existing ones and therefore, constitute the new state-of-art approximate solution procedures for the problem.     

渐进图像传输的码率分配快速算法

针对带限时变信道上的渐进图像传输,提出了一种信源信道联合编码码率分配快速算法,首先参考一组速率兼容信道码字的误码性能划分信道分区,在各分区内缩小可用信 道码率集后,通过前后向码率搜索求解最佳码率分配。该算法运算复杂度低,计算次数比启发式码率搜索算法降低了一个数量级,缩短了运算时间。因此,将其应用于自适应传输 系统,可根据信道状况快速调整码率分配。仿真结果表明,接收端重建图像的PSNR值始终在29.5 dB以上,同时波动范围小于4 dB,具有优良稳定的传输质量。     

Dual time-scale distributed capacity allocation and load redirect algorithms for cloud systems

Resource management remains one of the main issues of cloud computing providers because system resources have to be continuously allocated to handle workload fluctuations while guaranteeing Service Level Agreements (SLA) to the end users. In this paper, we propose novel capacity allocation algorithms able to coordinate multiple distributed resource controllers operating in geographically distributed cloud sites. Capacity allocation solutions are integrated with a load redirection mechanism which, when necessary, distributes incoming requests among different sites. The overall goal is to minimize the costs of allocated resources in terms of virtual machines, while guaranteeing SLA constraints expressed as a threshold on the average response time. We propose a distributed solution which integrates workload prediction and distributed non-linear optimization techniques. Experiments show how the proposed solutions improve other heuristics proposed in literature without penalizing SLAs, and our results are close to the global optimum which can be obtained by an oracle with a perfect knowledge about the future offered load.     

Implementing a dynamic processor allocation policy for multiprogrammed parallel applications in the SolarisTM

Parallel applications typically do not perform well in a multiprogrammed environment that uses time‐sharing to allocate processor resources to the applications' parallel threads. Co‐scheduling related parallel threads, or statically partitioning the system, often can reduce the applications' execution times, but at the expense of reducing the overall system utilization. To address this problem, there has been increasing interest in dynamically allocating processors to applications based on their resource demands and the dynamically varying system load. The Loop‐Level Process Control (LLPC) policy (Yue K, Lilja D. Efficient execution of parallel applications in multiprogrammed multiprocessor systems. 10th International Parallel Processing Symposium, 1996; 448–456) dynamically adjusts the number of threads an application is allowed to execute based on the application's available parallelism and the overall system load. This study demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating the LLPC strategy into an existing commercial operating system and parallelizing compiler and provides further evidence of the performance improvement that is possible using this dynamic allocation strategy. In this implementation, applications are automatically parallelized and enhanced with the appropriate LLPC hooks so that each application interacts with the modified version of the Solaris operating system. The parallelism of the applications are then dynamically adjusted automatically when they are executed in a multiprogrammed environment so that all applications obtain a fair share of the total processing resources. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.