Fordham University
Department of Computer & Information Science

“Robust Resource Management in Parallel and Distributed Computing Systems”
Prof. H. J. Siegel
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
And
Department of Computer Science
Colorado State University

Date : Friday, April 7, 2006
Time : 2:00pm
Location : Lincoln Center Campus – LL 816

Abstract:
The resources in parallel and distributed computing systems should be allocated to the computational tasks in a way that maximizes some system performance measure. However, allocation decisions and associated performance prediction are often based on estimated values of task and system parameters. The actual values of these parameters may differ from the estimates; for example, the estimates may represent only average values, the models used to generate the estimates may have limited accuracy, and there may be changes in the environment. Thus, an important research problem is the development of resource management strategies that can guarantee a particular system performance given such uncertainties. To address this problem, we have designed a model for deriving the degree of robustness of a resource allocation – the maximum amount of collective uncertainty in system parameters within which a user-specified level of system performance can be guaranteed. The model will be presented and we will demonstrate its ability to select the most robust resource allocation from among those that otherwise perform similarly (based on the primary performance criterion). Examples of the model’s use in allocation heuristics will be given.

Bio:
H. J. Siegel is the George T. Abel Endowed Chair Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Colorado State University (CSU), where he is also a Professor of Computer Science. He is Director of the CSU Information Science and Technology Center (ISTeC), a university-wide organization for enhancing CSU’s activities pertaining the design and innovative application of computer, communication, and information systems. From 1976 to 2001, he was a Professor at Purdue University. He received two B.S. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the M.A., M.S.E., and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton University. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and a Fellow of the ACM. Professor Siegel has co-authored over 330 published technical papers in the areas of parallel and distributed computing and communications. He was a Coeditor-in-Chief of the Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, and was on the Editorial Boards of the IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems and the IEEE Transactions on Computers.

For more information or directions, contact Ms. Diane Roche (718) 817-4480