Combining batch execution and leasing using virtual machines

As cluster computers are used for a wider range of applications, we encounter the need to deliver resources at particular times, to meet particular deadlines, and/or at the same time as other resources are provided elsewhere. To address such requirements, we describe a scheduling approach in which users request resource leases, where leases can request either as-soon-as-possible (“best-effort”) or reservation start times. We present the design of a lease management architecture, Haizea, that implements leases as virtual machines (VMs), leveraging their ability to suspend, migrate, and resume computations and to provide leased resources with customized application environments. We discuss methods to minimize the overhead introduced by having to deploy VM images before the start of a lease. We also present the results of simulation studies that compare alternative approaches. Using workloads with various mixes of best-effort and advance reservation requests, we compare the performan...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: HPDC
• Authors: Borja Sotomayor, Kate Keahey, Ian T. Foster
• Keywords: Distributed And Parallel Computing, HPDC 2008, Image Popularity Distribution, Vm Image, VM Image Popularity