Overview and Goals This book is dedicated to scheduling for parallel processing. Presenting a research ?eld as broad as this one poses considerable dif?culties. Scheduling for parallel computing is an interdisciplinary subject joining many ?elds of science and te- nology. Thus, to understand the scheduling problems and the methods of solving them it is necessary to know the limitations in related areas. Another dif?culty is that the subject of scheduling parallel computations is immense. Even simple search in bibliographical databases reveals thousands of publications on this topic. The - versity in understanding scheduling problems is so great that it seems impossible to juxtapose them in one scheduling taxonomy. Therefore, most of the papers on scheduling for parallel processing refer to one scheduling problem resulting from one way of perceiving the reality. Only a few publications attempt to arrange this ?eld of knowledge systematically. In this book we will follow two guidelines. One guideline is a distinction - tween scheduling models which comprise a set of scheduling problems solved by dedicated algorithms. Thus, the aim of this book is to present scheduling models for parallel processing, problems de?ned on the grounds of certain scheduling models, and algorithms solving the scheduling problems. Most of the scheduling problems are combinatorial in nature. Therefore, the second guideline is the methodology of computational complexity theory. Inthisbookwepresentfourexamplesofschedulingmodels. Wewillgodeepinto the models, problems, and algorithms so that after acquiring some understanding of them we will attempt to draw conclusions on their mutual relationships.

A new model for task scheduling that dramatically improves the efficiency of parallel systems Task scheduling for parallel systems can become a quagmire of heuristics, models, and methods that have been developed over the past decades. The author of this innovative text cuts through the confusion and complexity by presenting a consistent and comprehensive theoretical framework along with realistic parallel system models. These new models, based on an investigation of the concepts and principles underlying task scheduling, take into account heterogeneity, contention for communication resources, and the involvement of the processor in communications. For readers who may be new to task scheduling, the first chapters are essential. They serve as an excellent introduction to programming parallel systems, and they place task scheduling within the context of the program parallelization process. The author then reviews the basics of graph theory, discussing the major graph models used to represent parallel programs. Next, the author introduces his task scheduling framework. He carefully explains the theoretical background of this framework and provides several examples to enable readers to fully understand how it greatly simplifies and, at the same time, enhances the ability to schedule. The second half of the text examines both basic and advanced scheduling techniques, offering readers a thorough understanding of the principles underlying scheduling algorithms. The final two chapters address communication contention in scheduling and processor involvement in communications. Each chapter features exercises that help readers put their new skills into practice. An extensive bibliography leads to additional information for further research. Finally, the use of figures and examples helps readers better visualize and understand complex concepts and processes. Researchers and students in distributed and parallel computer systems will find that this text dramatically improves their ability to schedule tasks accurately and efficiently.

Scheduling in Parallel Computing Systems: Fuzzy and Annealing Techniques advocates the viability of using fuzzy and annealing methods in solving scheduling problems for parallel computing systems. The book proposes new techniques for both static and dynamic scheduling, using emerging paradigms that are inspired by natural phenomena such as fuzzy logic, mean-field annealing, and simulated annealing. Systems that are designed using such techniques are often referred to in the literature as `intelligent' because of their capability to adapt to sudden changes in their environments. Moreover, most of these changes cannot be anticipated in advance or included in the original design of the system. Scheduling in Parallel Computing Systems: Fuzzy and Annealing Techniques provides results that prove such approaches can become viable alternatives to orthodox solutions to the scheduling problem, which are mostly based on heuristics. Although heuristics are robust and reliable when solving certain instances of the scheduling problem, they do not perform well when one needs to obtain solutions to general forms of the scheduling problem. On the other hand, techniques inspired by natural phenomena have been successfully applied for solving a wide range of combinatorial optimization problems (e.g. traveling salesman, graph partitioning). The success of these methods motivated their use in this book to solve scheduling problems that are known to be formidable combinatorial problems. Scheduling in Parallel Computing Systems: Fuzzy and Annealing Techniques is an excellent reference and may be used for advanced courses on the topic.

This book provides an in-depth study concerning a claqss of problems in the general area of load sharing and balancing in parallel and distributed systems. The authors present the design and analysis of load distribution strategies for arbitrarily divisible loads in multiprocessor/multicomputer systems subjects to the system constraints in the form of communication delays. In particular, two system architecture-single-level tree or star network, and linear network-are thoroughly analyzed. The text studies two different cases, one of processors with front-ends and the other without. It concentrates on load distribution strategies and performance analysis, and does not cover issues related to implementation of these strategies on a specific system. The book collates research results developed mainly by two groups at the Indian Institute of Science and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. It also covers results by other researchers that have either appeared or are due to appear in computer science literature. The book also provides relevant but easily understandable numerical examples and figures to illustrate important concepts. It is the first book in this area and is intended to spur further research enabling these ideas to be applied to a more general class of loads. The new methodology introduced here allows a close examination of issues involving the integration of communication and computation. In fact, what is presented is a new "calculus" for load sharing problems.

Topics in Parallel and Distributed Computing provides resources and guidance for those learning PDC as well as those teaching students new to the discipline. The pervasiveness of computing devices containing multicore CPUs and GPUs, including home and office PCs, laptops, and mobile devices, is making even common users dependent on parallel processing. Certainly, it is no longer sufficient for even basic programmers to acquire only the traditional sequential programming skills. The preceding trends point to the need for imparting a broad-based skill set in PDC technology. However, the rapid changes in computing hardware platforms and devices, languages, supporting programming environments, and research advances, poses a challenge both for newcomers and seasoned computer scientists. This edited collection has been developed over the past several years in conjunction with the IEEE technical committee on parallel processing (TCPP), which held several workshops and discussions on learning parallel computing and integrating parallel concepts into courses throughout computer science curricula. - Contributed and developed by the leading minds in parallel computing research and instruction - Provides resources and guidance for those learning PDC as well as those teaching students new to the discipline - Succinctly addresses a range of parallel and distributed computing topics - Pedagogically designed to ensure understanding by experienced engineers and newcomers - Developed over the past several years in conjunction with the IEEE technical committee on parallel processing (TCPP), which held several workshops and discussions on learning parallel computing and integrating parallel concepts

This book is one of the first to address the problem of forming useful parallelism from potential parallelism and to provide a general solution. The book presents two approaches to automatic partitioning and scheduling so that the same parallel program can be made to execute efficiently on widely different multiprocessors. The first approach is based on a macro dataflow model in which the program is partitioned into tasks at compile time and the tasks are scheduled on processors at run time. The second approach is based on a compile time scheduling model, where both the partitioning and scheduling are performed at compile time. Both approaches have been implemented in partition programs written in the single assignment language SISAL. The inputs to the partitioning and scheduling algorithms are a graphical representation of the parallel program and a list of parameters describing the target multiprocessor. Execution profile information is used to derive compile-time estimates of execution times and data sizes in the program. Both the macro dataflow and compile-time scheduling problems are expressed as optimization problems and are shown to be NP complete in the strong sense. Efficient approximation algorithms for these problems are presented. Finally, the effectiveness of the partitioning and scheduling algorithms is studied by multiprocessor simulations of various SISAL benchmark programs for different target multiprocessor parameters. Vivek Sarkar is a Member of Research Staff at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center. Partitioning and Scheduling Parallel Programs for Multiprocessing is included in the series Research Monographs in Parallel and Distributed Computing. Copublished with Pitman Publishing.