Method and system for efficiently allocating resources for solving computationally hard problems

摘要

A resource allocation method and system allocates a computational resource between elements of a portfolio of computational entities. The computational resource can be processing time, memory or display screen space. The computational resource can also be associated with a distributed network such as the Internet. In this case, the computational resource is the number of pending messages sent across the distributed network, pendancy time of a message sent across the distributed network, priority of the messages sent across the distributed network, and/or cost of the messages set across the distributed network. When the computational resource is processing time, the resource is allocated between different processes executing on the processor. These different processes include different solution procedures for solving a computationally hard problem, different instances of a single solution procedure for solving the computationally hard problem, and the like. The resource is allocated to optimize the solution time or variance in the solution time. When the computational resource is memory, the resource is allocated between files that are to be stored in the memory, where the total size of the files exceeds the available space in the memory. The available space in the memory is allocated to maximize the likelihood that a file will be stored in the memory when it is needed. When the computational resource is screen real estate, the resource is allocated between display icons that are to be displayed on the display screen, where the total area consumed by the icons exceeds the available screen real estate.