Speed scaling on parallel processors

Abstract

In this paper we investigate algorithmic instruments leading to low powerconsumption in computing devices. While previous work on energy-efficient algorithms has mostly focused on single processor environments, in this paper we investigate multi-processor settings. We study the basic problem of scheduling a set of jobs, each specified by a release time, a deadline and a processing volume, on variable speed processors so as to minimize the total energy consumption. We first settle the complexity of speed scaling with unit size jobs. More specifically, we devise a polynomial time algorithm for agreeable deadlines and prove NP-hardness results for arbitrary release dates and deadlines. For the latter setting we also develop a polynomial time algorithm achieving a constant factor approximation guarantee that is independent of the number of processors. Additionally, we study speed scaling of jobs with arbitrary processing requirements and, again, develop constant factor approximation algorithms. We finally transform our offline algorithms into constant competitive online strategies.