Game-theoretic static load balancing for distributed systems

In this paper, we present a game theoretic approach to solve the static load balancing problem for single-class and multi-class (multi-user) jobs in a distributed system where the computers are connected by a communication network. The objective of our approach is to provide fairness to all the jobs (in a single-class system) and the users of the jobs (in a multi-user system). To provide fairness to all the jobs in the system, we use a cooperative game to model the load balancing problem. Our solution is based on the Nash Bargaining Solution (NBS) which provides a Pareto optimal solution for the distributed system and is also a fair solution. An algorithm for computing the NBS is derived for the proposed cooperative load balancing game. To provide fairness to all the users in the system, the load balancing problem is formulated as a non-cooperative game among the users who try to minimize the expected response time of their own jobs. We use the concept of Nash equilibrium as the solution of our non-cooperative game and derive a distributed algorithm for computing it. Our schemes are compared with other existing schemes using simulations with various system loads and configurations. We show that our schemes perform near the system optimal schemes and are superior to the other schemes in terms of fairness. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.