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Method of automatically controlling the allocation of resources of a parallel processor computer system by calculating a minimum execution time of a task and scheduling subtasks against resources to execute the task in the minimum time

  • US 5,325,525 A
  • Filed: 04/04/1991
  • Issued: 06/28/1994
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/04/1991
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method of automatically controlling the operation of a computer system to execute a task, the computer system being of the kind that has a plurality of simultaneously operable resources, the task being of the kind that has a plurality of subtasks more than one of which could be executed simultaneously given enough resources, the method comprising the following steps executed automatically in the computer:

  • (a) calculating a minimum execution time that would be required to execute the task assuming the computer system has enough resources to simultaneously perform all the subtasks that could be performed simultaneously;

    (b) preparing a subtask-resource schedule in which it is assumed that each said subtask will be provided with whatever resources would be necessary to execute that subtask such that adherence to the schedule would result in executing the task in the minimum execution time;

    (c) determining how many resources would be required to satisfy the subtask-resource schedule;

    (d) determining whether the computer system has the number of resources determined in the preceding step;

    (e) responsive to a determination in the preceding step that the computer system has said number of resources, assigning the resources to the subtasks according to the subtask-resource schedule; and

    responsive to a determination in the preceding step that the computer system does not have said number of resources, (1) calculating a revised execution time that has a longer duration than the minimum execution time, (2) adjusting the subtask-resource schedule by reducing the number of resources such that adherence to the adjusted schedule would result in executing the task in the revised execution time, (3) determining how many resources would be required to satisfy the adjusted schedule, and (4) looping back to step (d) to perform steps (d) and (e) again.

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