Load Balancing with Duration Predictions

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Azar, Yossi, Buchbinder, Niv, Epshtein, Tomer
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Azar, Yossi
Buchbinder, Niv
Epshtein, Tomer
author_facet Azar, Yossi
Buchbinder, Niv
Epshtein, Tomer
contents We study the classic fully dynamic load balancing problem on unrelated machines where jobs arrive and depart over time and the goal is minimizing the maximum load, or more generally the l_p-norm of the load vector. Previous work either studied the clairvoyant setting in which exact durations are known to the algorithm, or the unknown duration setting in which no information on the duration is given to the algorithm. For the clairvoyant setting algorithms with polylogarithmic competitive ratios were designed, while for the unknown duration setting strong lower bounds exist and only polynomial competitive factors are possible. We bridge this gap by studying a more realistic model in which some estimate/prediction of the duration is available to the algorithm. We observe that directly incorporating predictions into classical load balancing algorithms designed for the clairvoyant setting can lead to a notable decline in performance. We design better algorithms whose performance depends smoothly on the accuracy of the available prediction. We also prove lower bounds on the competitiveness of algorithms that use such inaccurate predictions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_12202
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Load Balancing with Duration Predictions
Azar, Yossi
Buchbinder, Niv
Epshtein, Tomer
Data Structures and Algorithms
We study the classic fully dynamic load balancing problem on unrelated machines where jobs arrive and depart over time and the goal is minimizing the maximum load, or more generally the l_p-norm of the load vector. Previous work either studied the clairvoyant setting in which exact durations are known to the algorithm, or the unknown duration setting in which no information on the duration is given to the algorithm. For the clairvoyant setting algorithms with polylogarithmic competitive ratios were designed, while for the unknown duration setting strong lower bounds exist and only polynomial competitive factors are possible. We bridge this gap by studying a more realistic model in which some estimate/prediction of the duration is available to the algorithm. We observe that directly incorporating predictions into classical load balancing algorithms designed for the clairvoyant setting can lead to a notable decline in performance. We design better algorithms whose performance depends smoothly on the accuracy of the available prediction. We also prove lower bounds on the competitiveness of algorithms that use such inaccurate predictions.
title Load Balancing with Duration Predictions
topic Data Structures and Algorithms
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.12202