Connection-Aware Heuristics for Scheduling and Distributing Jobs under Dynamic Dew Computing Environments

Abstract

Due to the widespread use of mobile and IoT devices, coupled with their continually expanding processing capabilities, dew computing environments have become a significant focus for researchers. These environments enable resource-constrained devices to contribute computing power to a local network. One major challenge within these environments revolves around task scheduling, specifically determining the optimal distribution of jobs across the available devices in the network. This challenge becomes particularly pronounced in dynamic environments where network conditions constantly change. This work proposes integrating the “reliability” concept into cutting-edge human-design job distribution heuristics named ReleSEAS and RelBPA as a means of adapting to dynamic and ever-changing network conditions caused by nodes’ mobility. Additionally, we introduce a reinforcement learning (RL) approach, embedding both the notion of reliability and real-time network status into the RL agent. Our research rigorously contrasts our proposed algorithms’ throughput and job completion rates with their predecessors. Simulated results reveal a marked improvement in overall throughput, with our algorithms potentially boosting the environment’s performance. They also show a significant enhancement in job completion within dynamic environments compared to baseline findings. Moreover, when RL is applied, it surpasses the job completion rate of human-designed heuristics. Our study emphasizes the advantages of embedding inherent network characteristics into job distribution algorithms for dew computing. Such incorporation gives them a profound understanding of the network’s diverse resources. Consequently, this insight enables the algorithms to manage resources more adeptly and effectively.