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Practical Considerations in Optimal Multiprocessor Scheduling

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Handbook of Real-Time Computing

Abstract

The problem of scheduling a set of recurrent tasks subject to meeting all tasks’ deadlines is in the core of real-time systems design. Practical solutions for this problem when there is a single processing unit in the system have long been known. For example, the cost-effective algorithm that schedules at any time the ready task with the earliest deadline has been proved optimal for a large spectrum of systems. A scheduling algorithm is said optimal for a class of systems if it generates a schedule for this class according to which no task deadline is ever missed whenever it is possible to do so. Achieving optimality in multiprocessors has shown to be more challenging and often implies high runtime overheads. Designing optimal and practical scheduling algorithms for multiprocessor systems has thus become a relevant research topic, on which this chapter offers a gentle introduction. Key concepts are explained intuitively and based on illustrations, using some of the optimal algorithms developed to date. The focus here is not on their formalization or correctness proofs. The goal is to highlight the principles behind scheduling optimality, while presenting considerations as for their applicability.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

    George Lima & Paul Regnier

  2. State University of Bahia and Unifacs, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

    Ernesto Massa

Authors
  1. George Lima
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  2. Ernesto Massa
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  3. Paul Regnier
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Correspondence to George Lima .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computer Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Yu-Chu Tian

  2. School of Electrical and Information Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    David Charles Levy

Section Editor information

  1. School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Arvind Easwaran

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Lima, G., Massa, E., Regnier, P. (2022). Practical Considerations in Optimal Multiprocessor Scheduling. In: Tian, YC., Levy, D.C. (eds) Handbook of Real-Time Computing. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-251-7_3

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