Many algorithms to schedule DAGs on multiprocessors have been proposed, but there has been little work done to determine their effectiveness. Since multi-processor scheduling is an NP-hard problem, no exact tractable algorithm exists, and no baseline is available from which to compare the resulting schedules. This paper is an attempt to quantify the differences in a few of the heuristics. The empiracle performance of five heuristics is compared when they are applied to ten specific DAGs which represent program dependence graphs of important applications. The comparison is made between a graph based method, a list scheduling technique and three critical path mathods.
Carolyn McCreary, A. A. Khan, J. J. Thompson, M. E