Performance comparison of dynamic load-balancing strategies for distributed computing

The DASUD (Diffusion Algorithm Searching Unbalanced Domains) algorithm belongs to the nearest-neighbours class and operates in a diffusion scheme where a processor balances its load with all its neighbours. DASUD detects unbalanced domains and performs local exchange of load between processors to achieve global balancing. The DASUD algorithm has been evaluated by comparison with another well-known strategy, namely, the SID (Sender Initiated Diffusion) algorithm across a range of network topologies including ring, torus and hypercube where the number of processors varies from 8 to 128. From the experiments we have observed that DASUD outperforms the other strategy as it provides the best trade-of-between the balance degree obtained at the final state and the number of iterations required to reach such a state. DASUD is able to coerce any initial load distribution into a highly balanced global state and also exhibits good scalability properties.