Processor Saving Scheduling Policies for Multiprocessor Systems

In this paper, processor scheduling policies that "save" processors are introduced and studied. In a multiprogrammed parallel system, a "processor saving" scheduling policy purposefully keeps some of the available processors idle in the presence of work to be done. The conditions under which processor saving policies can be more effective than their greedy counterparts, i.e., policies that never leave processors idle in the presence of work to be done, are examined. Sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to application speedup, system size, coefficient of variation of the applications' execution time, variability in the arrival process, and multiclass workloads. Analytical, simulation, and experimental results show that processor saving policies outperform their greedy counterparts under a variety of system and workload characteristics.