Theoretical Foundations and Algorithms for Scheduling in Parallel and Distributed Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Efficient scheduling is a fundamental challenge in parallel and distributed computing, directly impacting system performance, scalability, and resource utilization. As computing environments evolve from traditional multiprocessors and clusters to heterogeneous systems, cloud infrastructures, and large-scale distributed systems, scheduling problems have become increasingly complex. These challenges arise from the heterogeneity of workloads, dynamic resource availability, communication overheads, and strict requirements on performance and energy efficiency.

Theoretical foundations provide the mathematical models and complexity analyses that guide the design and evaluation of scheduling strategies in distributed systems. Building on this foundation, algorithmic advances offer practical solutions that balance optimality with scalability, often addressing NP-hard problems through approximation, heuristics, and randomized methods. Recent developments also incorporate machine learning, game theory, and stochastic modeling to adapt scheduling decisions to uncertain, real-world environments. 

This Special Issue brings together contributions that advance both the theoretical underpinnings and algorithmic techniques for solving scheduling problems in parallel and distributed systems. We invite submissions that explore innovative theories, models, algorithms, and applications in scheduling for parallel and distributed systems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Complexity analysis and performance bounds of scheduling problems;
• Approximation, heuristic, and randomized algorithms;
• Task allocation and load balancing in parallel and distributed systems;
• Scheduling under uncertainty, dynamic environments, or heterogeneous resources;
• Energy-aware and performance-driven scheduling strategies;
• Models and algorithms for fog, cloud, and edge computing;
• Machine learning and data-driven approaches to scheduling;
• Applications of scheduling algorithms in emerging technologies such as IoT and Blockchain.

Dr. Pavan Poudel
Prof. Dr. Long Cheng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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