Parallel task execution in LANs and performance analysis

This paper analyzes the performance of local area networks (LANs) of workstations for distributed computing. Application programs are scheduled by the user workstation (master) for parallel execution in the idle or lightly loaded processors (slaves). Partial results are collected by the master station to synchronize the operation of slave nodes. A general speedup equation is derived to verify the measurement values. The sequential and parallel execution times and the performance degradation factors (scheduling, communication, TCP/IP communication overhead, and synchronization times) were measured for various network loads and sizes. Experimental and theoretical results show that the system performance is degraded mainly by the TCP/IP overhead (0.2 s), the network size, and the network load