Improving Throughput for Grid Applications with Network Logistics

This work describes a technique for improving network performance in Grid environments that we refer to as "logistics." We demonstrate that by using storage and cooperative forwarding "in" the network, we can improve end to end throughput in many cases. Our approach uses TCP connections in series and offers performance benefits for high-bandwidth, high-latency networks. First, we examine the underlying causes of the logistical effect. Next, we present a graph based scheduling approach that can be solved quickly and, within our assumptions, optimally. Finally, we present a large-scale empirical evaluation of the system in order to validate our scheduling approach for taking advantage of network logistics. This study demonstrates performance improvement in many situations and aggregate speedup results are presented.