Energy-efficient resource allocation scheme based on enhanced flower pollination algorithm for cloud computing data center

Cloud Computing (CC) has rapidly emerged as a successful paradigm for providing ICT infrastructure. Efficient and environmental-friendly resource allocation mechanisms, responsible for allocatinpg Cloud data center resources to execute user applications in the form of requests are undoubtedly required. One of the promising Nature-Inspired techniques for addressing virtualization, consolidation and energyaware problems is the Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA). However, FPA suffers from entrapment and its static control parameters cannot maintain a balance between local and global search which could also lead to high energy consumption and inadequate resource utilization. This research developed an enhanced FPA-based energy efficient resource allocation scheme for Cloud data center which provides efficient resource utilization and energy efficiency with less probable Service Level Agreement (SLA) violations. Firstly, an Enhanced Flower Pollination Algorithm for Energy-Efficient Virtual Machine Placement (EFPA-EEVMP) was developed. In this algorithm, a Dynamic Switching Probability (DSP) strategy was adopted to balance the local and global search space in FPA used to minimize the energy consumption and maximize resource utilization. Secondly, Multi-Objective Hybrid Flower Pollination Resource Consolidation (MOH-FPRC) algorithm was developed. In this algorithm, Local Neighborhood Search (LNS) and Pareto optimisation strategies were combined with Clustering algorithm to avoid local trapping and address Cloud service providers conflicting objectives such as energy consumption and SLA violation. Lastly, Energy-Aware Multi-Cloud Flower Pollination Optimization (EAM-FPO) scheme was developed for distributed Multi-Cloud data center environment. In this scheme, Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and migration controller were utilised to obtain the optimal solution in a larger search space of the CC environment. The scheme was tested on MultiRecCloudSim simulator. Results of the simulation were compared with OEMACS, ACS-VMC, and EA-DP. The scheme produced outstanding performance improvement rate on the data center energy consumption by 20.5%, resource utilization by 23.9%, and SLA violation by 13.5%. The combined algorithms have reduced entrapment and maintaned balance between local and global search. Therefore, based on the findings the developed scheme has proven to be efficient in minimizing energy consumption while at the same time improving the data center resource allocation with minimum SLA violation

Energy-efficient Nature-Inspired techniques in Cloud computing datacenters

Cloud computing is a systematic delivery of computing resources as services to the consumers via the Internet. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is the capability provided to the consumer by enabling smarter access to the processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources, where the consumer can deploy and run arbitrary software including operating systems and applications. The resources are sometimes available in the form of Virtual Machines (VMs). Cloud services are provided to the consumers based on the demand, and are billed accordingly. Usually, the VMs run on various datacenters, which comprise of several computing resources consuming lots of energy resulting in hazardous level of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Several researchers have proposed various energy-efficient methods for reducing the energy consumption in datacenters. One such solutions are the Nature-Inspired algorithms. Towards this end, this paper presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art Nature-Inspired algorithms suggested for solving the energy issues in the Cloud datacenters. A taxonomy is followed focusing on three key dimension in the literature including virtualization, consolidation, and energy-awareness. A qualitative review of each techniques is carried out considering key goal, method, advantages, and limitations. The Nature-Inspired algorithms are compared based on their features to indicate their utilization of resources and their level of energy-efficiency. Finally, potential research directions are identified in energy optimization in data centers. This review enable the researchers and professionals in Cloud computing datacenters in understanding literature evolution towards to exploring better energy-efficient methods for Cloud computing datacenters

Evolutionary algorithms for scheduling operations

While business process automation is proliferating through industries and processes, operations such as job and crew scheduling are still performed manually in the majority of workplaces. The linear programming techniques are not capable of automated production of a job or crew schedule within a reasonable computation time due to the massive sizes of real-life scheduling problems. For this reason, AI solutions are becoming increasingly popular, specifically Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs). However, there are three key limitations of previous studies researching application of EAs for the solution of the scheduling problems. First of all, there is no justification for the selection of a particular genetic operator and conclusion about their effectiveness. Secondly, the practical efficiency of such algorithms is unknown due to the lack of comparison with manually produced schedules. Finally, the implications of real-life implementation of the algorithm are rarely considered. This research aims at addressing all three limitations. Collaborations with DBSchenker,the rail freight carrier, and Garnett-Dickinson, the printing company,have been established. Multi-disciplinary research methods including document analysis, focus group evaluations, and interviews with managers from different levels have been carried out. A standard EA has been enhanced with developed within research intelligent operators to efficiently solve the problems. Assessment of the developed algorithm in the context of real life crew scheduling problem showed that the automated schedule outperformed the manual one by 3.7% in terms of its operating efficiency. In addition, the automatically produced schedule required less staff to complete all the jobs and might provide an additional revenue opportunity of £500 000. The research has also revealed a positive attitude expressed by the operational and IT managers towards the developed system. Investment analysis demonstrated a 41% return rate on investment in the automated scheduling system, while the strategic analysis suggests that this system can enable attainment of strategic priorities. The end users of the system, on the other hand, expressed some degree of scepticism and would prefer manual methods