Fast GA-based project scheduling for computing resources allocation in a cloud manufacturing system

Cloud manufacturing is becoming an increasingly popular enterprise model in which computing resources are made available on-demand to the user as needed. Cloud manufacturing aims at providing low-cost, resource-sharing and effective coordination. In this study, we present a genetic algorithm (GA) based resource constraint project scheduling, incorporating a number of new ideas (enhancements and local search) for solving computing resources allocation problems in a cloud manufacturing system. A newly generated offspring may not be feasible due to task precedence and resource availability constraints. Conflict resolutions and enhancements are performed on newly generated offsprings after crossover or mutation. The local search can exploit the neighborhood of solutions to find better schedules. Due to its complex characteristics, computing resources allocation in a cloud manufacturing system is NP-hard. Computational results show that the proposed GA can rapidly provide a good quality schedule that can optimally allocate computing resources and satisfy users' demands.