Newsgroups: comp.parallel.pvm
From: "D. Jain" <D.Jain@ncl.ac.uk>
Subject: when is a network 'loaded'
Organization: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Date: 29 Dec 1994 11:16:42 GMT
Message-ID: <3du5qq$r41@whitbeck.ncl.ac.uk>

I am interested in looking at automatic load balancing and the effect of varying
the size of packets on the efficiency of code (with a master/slave set up) on a
loaded network of UNIX workstations (linked by ethernet).

Further to this I am working with a dot product code (similar to the standard
example in the PVM book) with some modifications to allow me to run it under
XPVM (notably the method of finding out if you are the master or the slave has to
be changed - see my previous article on this some months ago) and with the
addition of load balancing code (what we call the "boulders and sand" method 'cos
we havent managed to find a good name for the method in literature).

I am posting this article for two reasons:

1) does anyone know of papers already published on this? If so could someone
forward me a a reference (preferably with a site from which i can download a copy)
or even a copy.

2) anyone suggest a good definition of loaded?!!!???! You would think that would
be simple but tha hasnt proved to be the case (there again I am a lowly physicist
so what would I know!).

The reason behind this work is because myself and others here in Newcastle are
getting into using PVM to handle large clusters of atoms for our solid state
physics calculations. The master/slave set up seems to be the natural way to
adapt our existing serial code with the simple load balancing technique we are
looking at.

Thanks for ploughing through this article - feel free to cross out the waffly
bits and replace them with technical compuer scientist lingo!

Cheers
Deepak Jain

-- 
The storms will pass      ! Deepak Jain  IRC Nick: Toon  !
It won't be long now.     ! Email:d.jain@newcastle.ac.uk !
The storms will pass      ! PHONE (091) 2227360          !
But my love lasts forever.! http://www.ncl.ac.uk/~n04ck/ !

