Patent ID: 7010596
Filing Date: 2006-03-07
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. In a computer network including at least two workstations and implementing a grid for executing a grid workload on shared resources of at least two workstations, a method of assigning said grid workload to one of the at least two workstations, the method comprising: connecting a plurality of workstations in a network each workstation having available resources which are shared with other workstations across the network; implementing a grid across the network; executing grid workload on the resources which are shared among the plurality of workstations; determining an activity state of a first workstation included in the grid, the activity state being indicative of a degree of current utilization of the first workstation by a local workload; responding to a determination that the activity state of the first workstation indicates low utilization by assigning grid workload to the first workstation; responding to a determination that the activity state of the first workstation indicates high utilization by determining a workstation preference for accepting grid workload on the first workstation when utilization is determined to be high; responding to a determination that the workstation preference is yes by determining a delay level associated with the grid workload and indicative of an extent to which the grid workload will lock the resources of a workstation to which the arid workload is assigned; and responding to a determination that the activity state indicates high utilization and that the workstation preference is yes by assigning the grid workload to the first workstation only if the delay level indicates that the grid workload will lock the workstation resources to an extent below a threshold.