Method and apparatus for utility-based dynamic resource allocation in a distributed computing system

Abstract

In one embodiment, the present invention is a method for allocation of finite computational resources amongst multiple entities, wherein the method is structured to optimize the business value of an enterprise providing computational services. One embodiment of the inventive method involves establishing, for each entity, a service level utility indicative of how much business value is obtained for a given level of computational system performance. The service-level utility for each entity is transformed into a corresponding resource-level utility indicative of how much business value may be obtained for a given set or amount of resources allocated to the entity. The resource-level utilities for each entity are aggregated, and new resource allocations are determined and executed based upon the resource-level utility information. The invention is thereby capable of making rapid allocation decisions, according to time-varying need or value of the resources by each of the entities.

Description

BACKGROUND [0001] The present invention relates generally to data processing systems, and relates more particularly to the management of hardware and software components of data processing systems. Specifically, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for automatic allocation of computing resources amongst multiple entities that obtain value by utilizing the resources to perform computation. [0002] The problem of how to optimally allocate a limited set of resources amongst multiple entities that use or consume the resources has been extensively studied in disciplines including economics, manufacturing, telecommunications networks, and computing systems. Within the latter domain, the recent evolution of highly interconnected, rapidly changing, distributed computing systems such as the Internet has made it increasingly important to be able to rapidly compute and execute resource allocation decisions in an automated fashion. [0003] Traditional approaches to provisioning a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005] In one embodiment, the present invention is a method for optimal and automatic allocation of finite resources (e.g., hardware or software that can be used within any overall process that performs computation) amongst multiple entities that can provide computational services given the resource(s). One embodiment of the inventive method involves establishing, for each entity, a service level utility indicative of how much business value is obtained for a given level of computational system performance and for a given level of demand for computing service. Each entity is capable of transforming its respective service-level utility into a corresponding resource-level utility indicative of how much business value may be obtained for a given set or amount of resources allocated to the entity. The resource-level utilities for each entity are aggregated, and resource allocations are subsequently determined and executed based upon the dynamic resource-level utility information established. The invention is thereby capable of making rapid allocation decisions, according to time-varying need or value of the resources by each of the entities. In addition, the inventive method is motivated by the perspective of an enterprise comprising multiple entities that use said finite computational resources to provide service to one or more customers, and is thus structured to optimize the business value of the enterprise.

Problems solved by technology

A common problem with such approaches is that, with modern workloads such as hit rates on Web pages, the demand rate may vary dynamically and rapidly over many orders of magnitude, and a system that is statically provisioned for its peak workload may spend nearly all its time sitting idle.

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