Solving Job Scheduling Problem in Computational Grid Systems Using a Hybrid Algorithm

Grid computing is a high performance distributed computing system that consists of different types of resources such as computing, storage, and communication. The main function of the job scheduling problem is to schedule the resource-intensive user jobs to available grid resources efficiently to achieve high system throughput and to satisfy user requirements. The job scheduling problem has become more challenging with the ever-increasing size of grid systems. The optimal job scheduling is an NP-complete problem which can easily be solved by using meta-heuristic techniques. This chapter presents a hybrid algorithm for job scheduling using genetic algorithm (GA) and cuckoo search algorithm (CSA) for efficiently allocating jobs to resources in a grid system so that makespan, flowtime, and job failure rate are minimized. This proposed algorithm combines the advantages of both GA and CSA. The results have been compared with standard GA, CSA, and ant colony optimization (ACO) to show the importance of the proposed algorithm.

Use of Very High Spatial Resolution Commercial Satellite Imagery and Deep Learning to Automatically Map Ice-Wedge Polygons across Tundra Vegetation Types

We developed a high-throughput mapping workflow, which centers on deep learning (DL) convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithms on high-performance distributed computing resources, to automatically characterize ice-wedge polygons (IWPs) from sub-meter resolution commercial satellite imagery. We applied a region-based CNN object instance segmentation algorithm, namely the Mask R-CNN, to automatically detect and classify IWPs in North Slope of Alaska. The central goal of our study was to systematically expound the DLCNN model interoperability across varying tundra types (sedge, tussock sedge, and non-tussock sedge) and image scene complexities to refine the understanding of opportunities and challenges for regional-scale mapping applications. We corroborated quantitative error statistics along with detailed visual inspections to gauge the IWP detection accuracies. We found promising model performances (detection accuracies: 89% to 96% and classification accuracies: 94% to 97%) for all candidate image scenes with varying tundra types. The mapping workflow discerned the IWPs by exhibiting low absolute mean relative error (AMRE) values (0.17–0.23). Results further suggest the importance of increasing the variability of training samples when practicing transfer-learning strategy to map IWPs across heterogeneous tundra cover types. Overall, our findings demonstrate the robust performances of IWPs mapping workflow in multiple tundra landscapes.

Solving Job Scheduling Problem in Computational Grid Systems Using a Hybrid Algorithm

Grid computing is a high performance distributed computing system that consists of different types of resources such as computing, storage, and communication. The main function of the job scheduling problem is to schedule the resource-intensive user jobs to available grid resources efficiently to achieve high system throughput and to satisfy user requirements. The job scheduling problem has become more challenging with the ever-increasing size of grid systems. The optimal job scheduling is an NP-complete problem which can easily be solved by using meta-heuristic techniques. This chapter presents a hybrid algorithm for job scheduling using genetic algorithm (GA) and cuckoo search algorithm (CSA) for efficiently allocating jobs to resources in a grid system so that makespan, flowtime, and job failure rate are minimized. This proposed algorithm combines the advantages of both GA and CSA. The results have been compared with standard GA, CSA, and ant colony optimization (ACO) to show the importance of the proposed algorithm.

Hierarchical k-Nearest Neighbor with GPUs and a High Performance Cluster: Application to Handwritten Character Recognition

The accelerating progress and availability of low cost computers, high speed networks, and software for high performance distributed computing allow us to reconsider computationally expensive techniques in image processing and pattern recognition. We propose a two-level hierarchical [Formula: see text]-nearest neighbor classifier where the first level uses graphics processor units (GPUs) and the second level uses a high performance cluster (HPC). The system is evaluated on the problem of character recognition with nine databases (Arabic digits, Indian digits (Bangla, Devnagari, and Oriya), Bangla characters, Indonesian characters, Arabic characters, Farsi characters and digits). Contrary to many approaches that tune the model for different scripts, the proposed image classification method is unchanged throughout the evaluation on the nine databases. We show that a hierarchical combination of decisions based on two distances, using GPUs and a HPC provides state-of-the-art performances on several scripts, and provides a better accuracy than more complex systems.