Optimal task assignment in heterogeneous distributed computing systems

A distributed system comprising networked heterogeneous processors requires efficient task-to-processor assignment to achieve fast turnaround time. Although reasonable heuristics exist to address optimal processor assignment for small problems, larger problems require better algorithms. The authors describe two new algorithms based on the A* technique which are considerably faster, are more memory-efficient, and give optimal solutions. The first is a sequential algorithm that reduces the search space. The second proposes to lower time complexity, by running the assignment algorithm in parallel, and achieves significant speedup. The authors test their results on a library of task graphs and processor topologies.