A modified A* algorithm for allocating task in heterogeneous distirbuted computing systems

Abstract

Distributed computing can be used to solve large scale scientific and engineering problems. A parallel application could be divided into a number of tasks and executed concurrently on different computers in the system. This paper provides an optimal task assignment algorithm under memory constraints to minimize required time of finishing a parallel application. The proposed algorithm is based on the optimal assignment sequential search (OASS) of the A* algorithm with additional modifications. This modified algorithm yields optimal solution, lower time complexity, reduces the turnaround time of the application and considerably faster compared with the sequential search algorithm.