Sharing a Processor Among Many Job Classes

ABSTRACT. A single-server processor-sharing system with M job classes is analyzed in the steady state. The scheduling strategy considered divides the total processor capacity in unequal fractions among the different job classes. More precisely, if there are N~jobs of classj in the system, j = 1, 2 ..... M, each class k job receives a fraction gh/(~M.~ giN~) of the processor capacity. Earlier analyses of this system are shown to be incorrect and new expressions for the conditional expected response times Wk(t) of class k jobs with required service time t are obtained (for general required service time distributions). These yield the asymptotic behavior of W~(t) as t ~ oo and rather simple formulas in the exponential case. The unconditional average response times are also obtained. KEY WORDS AND PHRASES: processor sharing, strategy, egalitarian, discriminatory job classes, Laplace transform, Fourier-Stiehjes transform CR CATEGORIES: 4.35.4.6, 5.5, 6.2