Optimal load distribution in nondedicated heterogeneous cluster and grid computing environments

We consider optimal load distribution in a nondedicated cluster or grid computing system with heterogeneous servers processing both generic and dedicated applications. The goal of load balancing is to find an optimal load distribution strategy for generic tasks on heterogeneous servers preloaded by different amount of dedicated tasks such that the overall average response time of generic applications is minimized. The optimization problem is solved for three different queueing disciplines, namely, dedicated applications without priorities, prioritized dedicated applications without preemption, and prioritized dedicated applications with preemption. For each case, we derive equations that permit us to find optimal load distribution of generic tasks such that their average response time is minimized.