Online interval scheduling: randomized and multiprocessor cases

Stanley P. Y. Fung (), Chung Keung Poon () and Feifeng Zheng ()
Additional contact information
Stanley P. Y. Fung: University of Leicester
Chung Keung Poon: City University of Hong Kong
Feifeng Zheng: Xi’an Jiaotong University

Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, 2008, vol. 16, issue 3, No 4, 248-262

Abstract: Abstract We consider the problem of scheduling a set of equal-length intervals arriving online, where each interval is associated with a weight and the objective is to maximize the total weight of completed intervals. An optimal 4-competitive algorithm has long been known in the deterministic case, but the randomized case remains open. We give the first randomized algorithm for this problem, achieving a competitive ratio of 3.5822. We also prove a randomized lower bound of 4/3, which is an improvement over the previous 5/4 result. Then we show that the techniques can be carried to the deterministic multiprocessor case, giving a 3.5822-competitive 2-processor algorithm, and a 4/3 lower bound for any number of processors. We also give a lower bound of 2 for the case of two processors.

Keywords: Online algorithms; Scheduling; Intervals; Randomization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10878-007-9131-z

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