Performance models for hierarchical grid architectures

Main characteristics of large-scale, geographically distributed grid systems are resource heterogeneity and network latency. In this paper, we use queuing network models to analyze data-parallel grid applications and we show the effects of resource heterogeneity, communications delays, network bandwidths and synchronization overheads on the application-level performance. The proposed models rely on the statistical pattern of computation, communication, and I/O operations in the parallel applications, as well as on measurable infrastructure characteristics. We finally show how the high variability in the execution and communication times must be considered when modeling applications on geographically distributed grid infrastructures