QoS-Control of Structured Parallel Computations: a Predictive Control Approach

Abstract—A central issue for parallel applications executed on heterogeneous distributed platforms (e.g. Grids and Clouds) is assuring that performance and cost parameters are optimized throughout the execution. A solution is based on providing application components with adaptation strategies able to select at run-time the best component configuration. In this paper we will introduce a preliminary work concerning the exploitation of control-theoretic techniques for controlling parallel computations. In particular we will demonstrate how a predictive control approach can be used based on first-principle performance models of structured parallelism schemes. We will also evaluate the viability of our approach on a first experimental scenario. Index Terms—Structured Parallel Programs, Reconfigurations, Autonomic Computing, Model-based Predictive Control