Minimizing complex decisions to allocate additional resources to a job submitted to a grid environment

• US 8,387,058 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2008
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Fellenstein, Craig, Hamilton, Rick Allen, Joseph, Joshy, Seaman, James
• Primary Examiner(s): ZHE, MENG YAO
• Application Number:
  US12/143,776
• Publication Number:
  US 20080256228A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,711 Days
• Field of Search: 718/104, 706/45
• US Class Current: 718/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/50 Allocation of resources, e.g. of the central processing unit [CPU]

Abstract

At least one decision to allocate additional resources to at least one previously submitted job is stored in a decision cache, wherein said the least one decision is stored according to at least one characteristic of the at least one previously submitted job. When another job is submitted to the grid environment needs additional resources, the characteristic of the currently submitted job is compared with the characteristics of previous submitted jobs. If there is a match, then the previously made decision associated with the matching characteristic controls allocation of additional resources for the currently submitted job, such that complex decision making for allocation of additional resources is minimized by reusing previously stored decisions to allocate additional resources.

Claims

1. A computer system for minimizing complex decision making when allocating additional resources to a job submitted in a grid environment, said computer system comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of said one or more processors, for receiving, by a grid management system, a plurality of separate jobs from a plurality of client systems over a network;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of said one or more processors, for managing, by said grid management system, distribution of each of said plurality of separate jobs to a separate selection of at least one resource of a grid environment comprising a plurality of computing systems each comprising at least one of said at least resource and communicatively connected over a network through said grid management system to share each said at least one resource through at least one web service layer atop at least one grid service layer implemented within an open grid services architecture;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of said one or more processors, responsive to said grid management system distributing each of said plurality of separate jobs to said separate selection of said at least one resource, for triggering, by said at least one grid service layer, at least one resource monitor to monitor a performance of said separate selection of said at least one resource in handling each of said plurality of separate jobs to meet a separate performance agreement specified for each of said plurality of separate jobs and for triggering, by said at least one grid service layer, at least one decision controller from said at least one grid service layer to determine whether to allocate additional resources to each of said plurality of separate jobs to meet at least one said separate performance agreement specified for at least one of said plurality of separate jobs;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of said one or more processors, responsive to said at least one decision controller deciding to allocate additional resources to at least one particular job from among said plurality of separate jobs, for storing, in a memory medium within said grid management system, a record of at least one decision to allocate said additional resources from among said at least one resource to said at least one particular job, wherein said record of said at least one decision is specified by an amount of said at least one resource available for allocation and at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job, wherein said at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job comprises a system state detected by said at least one resource monitor of a particular separate selection of said at least one resource to which said at least one particular job was submitted and a particular priority of said at least one particular job to receive said additional resources from among said at least one resource;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of said one or more processors, responsive to said at least one decision controller determining whether to allocate said additional resources to a currently submitted job from among said plurality of separate jobs, for comparing, by said grid management system, at least one characteristic of said currently submitted job from among said plurality of separate jobs qualifying for said additional resources from said at least one resource of said grid environment with said at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job in said record in said memory medium, wherein said at least one characteristic of said currently submitted job comprises a system state of a current separate selection of said at least one resource to which said currently submitted job was submitted and a current priority of said currently submitted job to receive said additional resources from among said at least one resource; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of said one or more processors, responsive to said at least one characteristic of said currently submitted job matching said at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job in said record, for applying, by said grid management system, said record of said at least one decision associated with said matching job characteristics to control allocation of said additional resources for said currently submitted job, such that complex decision making for allocation of additional resources is minimized by reusing previously stored decisions to allocate additional resources.

2. The computer system according to claim 1 wherein said memory medium comprises a table for storing said record of said at least one decision to allocate said additional resources to each of said at least one previously submitted jobs, each stored according to said at least one characteristic.

3. The computer system according to claim 1 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of said one or more processors, responsive to said at least one characteristic of said currently submitted job not matching said at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job, for deciding whether to allocate said additional resources to said currently submitted job and storing an additional record for said additional decision according to said characteristic of said currently submitted job; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of said one or more processors, responsive to said additional decision to allocate said additional resources to said currently submitted job, for deciding which resources to allocate and storing said additional record for said additional decision according to said characteristic of said currently submitted job.

4. The computer system according to claim 1 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of said one or more processors, for organizing a plurality of discrete sets of physical resources into a hierarchy of a plurality of logical resources within said grid environment, wherein said additional resources are allocated from said hierarchy of said plurality of logical resources.

5. A computer program product for minimizing complex decision making when allocating additional resources to a job submitted in a grid environment, the computer program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to receive a plurality of separate jobs from a plurality of client systems over a network at a grid management system;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to manage distribution from said grid management system of each of said plurality of separate jobs to a separate selection of at least one resource of a grid environment comprising a plurality of computing systems each comprising at least one of said at least resource and communicatively connected over a network through said grid management system to share each said at least one resource through at least one web service layer atop at least one grid service layer implemented within an open grid services architecture;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, responsive to said grid management system distributing each of said plurality of separate jobs to said separate selection of said at least one resource, to trigger at least one resource monitor from said at least one grid service layer to monitor a performance of said separate selection of said at least one resource in handling each of said plurality of separate jobs to meet a separate performance agreement specified for each of said plurality of separate jobs and to trigger at least one decision controller from said at least one grid service layer to determine whether to allocate additional resources to each of said plurality of separate jobs to meet at least one said separate performance agreement specified for at least one of said plurality of separate jobs;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, responsive to said at least one decision controller deciding to allocate said additional resources to at least one particular job from among said plurality of separate jobs, to store, in at least one memory medium of said grid management system, a record of at least one decision to allocate said additional resources from among said at least one resource to said at least one particular job, wherein said record of said at least one decision is specified by an amount of said at least one resource available for allocation and at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job, wherein said at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job comprises a system state detected by said at least one resource monitor of a particular separate selection of said at least one resource to which said at least one particular job was submitted and a particular priority of said at least one particular job to receive said additional resources from among said at least one resource;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, responsive to said at least one decision controller determining whether to allocate said additional resources to a currently submitted job from among said plurality of separate jobs, to compare, by said grid management system, at least one characteristic of said currently submitted job from among said plurality of separate jobs qualifying for said additional resources from said at least one resource of said grid environment with said at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job in said record in said at least one memory medium, wherein said at least one characteristic of said currently submitted job comprises a system state of a current separate selection of said at least one resource to which said currently submitted job was submitted and a current priority of said currently submitted job to receive said additional resources from among said at least one resource; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, responsive to said at least one characteristic of said currently submitted job matching said at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job in said record, to apply by said grid management system said record of said at least one decision associated with said matching job characteristics to control allocation of additional resources for said currently submitted job, such that complex decision making for allocation of said additional resources is minimized by reusing previously stored decisions to allocate additional resources.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, said computer program product further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to store said record of said at least one decision to allocate said additional resources to each of said at least one previously submitted jobs, each stored according to said at least one characteristic in a table of said memory medium.

7. The computer program product of claim 5, said computer program product further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, responsive to said at least one characteristic of said currently submitted job not matching said at least one characteristic of said at least one particular job, to decide whether to allocate said additional resources to said currently submitted job and storing an additional record for said additional decision according to said characteristic of said currently submitted job; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, responsive to said additional decision to allocate said additional resources to said currently submitted job, to decide which resources to allocate and storing said additional record for said additional decision according to said characteristic of said currently submitted job.

8. The computer program product of claim 5, said computer program product further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to organize a plurality of discrete sets of physical resources into a hierarchy of a plurality of logical resources within said grid environment, wherein said additional resources are allocated from said hierarchy of said plurality of logical resources.