Patent ID: 8392574
Filing Date: 2013-03-05
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method to provide a service based on an environmental metric, the method comprising: assigning, with a processor, a first workload distribution to distribute a processing workload for the service among first and second processing containers to meet an environmental target, the first and second processing containers to provide the service at respective first and second individual environmental metrics; combining, with the processor and based on the first workload distribution, first and second individual costs that would be incurred respectively by the first and second processing containers to provide the service entirely at the respective first and second individual environmental metrics to determine an overall cost to provide the service using the first workload distribution, the combining comprising combining the first and second individual costs in proportion to a first amount of the processing workload to be assigned to the first container according to the first workload distribution and a second amount of the processing workload to be assigned to the second processing container according to the first workload distribution; determining a plurality of workload distributions to distribute the processing workload for the service, the plurality of workload distributions meeting respective different environmental targets, the plurality of workload distributions including the first workload distribution; determining overall costs associated with respective ones of the plurality of workload distributions, the overall costs including the overall cost to provide the service using the first workload distribution; and selecting one of the plurality of workload distributions to provide the service based on the environmental targets and the overall costs.