A genetic algorithm for task scheduling on heterogeneous computing systems using multiple priority queues

On parallel and distributed heterogeneous computing systems, a heuristic-based task scheduling algorithm typically consists of two phases: task prioritization and processor selection. In a heuristic based task scheduling algorithm, different prioritization will produce different makespan on a heterogeneous computing system. Therefore, a good scheduling algorithm should be able to efficiently assign a priority to each subtask depending on the resources needed to minimize makespan. In this paper, a task scheduling scheme on heterogeneous computing systems using a multiple priority queues genetic algorithm (MPQGA) is proposed. The basic idea of our approach is to exploit the advantages of both evolutionary-based and heuristic-based algorithms while avoiding their drawbacks. The proposedalgorithm incorporates a genetic algorithm (GA) approach to assign a priority to each subtask while using a heuristic-based earliest finish time (EFT) approach to search for a solution for the task-to-processor mapping. The MPQGA method also designs crossover, mutation, and fitness function suitable for the scenario of directed acyclic graph (DAG) scheduling. The experimental results for large-sized problems from a large set of randomly generated graphs as well as graphs of real-world problems with various characteristics show that the proposed MPQGA algorithm outperforms two non-evolutionary heuristics and a random search method in terms of schedule quality. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.