PNNL

Abstract

The underlying assumption of Divisible Load Scheduling (DLS) theory is that the pro-cessors composing the network are obedient, i.e., they do not “cheat” the scheduling algorithm. This assumption is unrealistic if the processors are owned by autonomous, self-interested organizations that have no a priori motivation for cooperation and they will manipulate the algorithm if it is bene?cial to do so. In this paper, we address this issue by designing a distributed mechanism for scheduling divisible loads in tree net-works, called DLS-T, which provides incentives to processors for reporting their true processing capacity and executing their assigned load at full processing capacity. We prove that the DLS-T mechanism computes the optimal allocation in an ex post Nash equilibrium. Finally, we simulate and study the mechanism under various network structures and processor parameters.