Critical-path and priority based algorithms for scheduling workflows with parameter sweep tasks on global grids

Parameter-sweep has been widely adopted in large numbers of scientific applications. Parameter-sweep features need to be incorporated into grid workflows so as to increase the scale and scope of such applications. New scheduling mechanisms and algorithms are required to provide optimized policy for resource allocation and task arrangement in such a case. This paper addresses scheduling sequential parameter-sweep tasks in a fine-grained manner. The optimization is produced by pipelining the subtasks and dispatching each of them onto well-selected resources. Two types of scheduling algorithms are discussed and customized to adapt the characteristics of parameter-sweep, as well as their effectiveness has been compared under multifarious scenarios.