Implications of CPU Dynamic Performance and Energy-Efficient Technologies on the Intrusiveness Generated by Desktop Grids Based on Virtualization

We evaluate how dynamic performance and energy-efficient technologies, as features introduced in modern processor architectures, affect the intrusiveness that Desktop Grids based on virtualization generate on desktops. Such intrusiveness is defined as degradation in the performance perceived by an end-user that is using a desktop while it is opportunistically utilized by Desktop Grid systems. To achieve this, we deploy virtual machines on a selection of desktops representing recent processor architectures. We then benchmark CPU intensive workloads simultaneously executed on both the virtual and the physical environment. The results show that dynamic performance and energy-efficient technologies, when incorporated on the supporting desktops, directly affect the level of intrusiveness an end-user perceives. Furthermore, depending on the processor architecture the intrusiveness percentage varies in a range from 3% to 100%. Finally, we propose policies aimed to minimize such intrusiveness according to the supporting processor architectures to be utilized and end-user profiles.