Matching-based Scheduling of Asynchronous Data Processing Workflows on the Computing Continuum

Today's distributed computing infrastructures encompass complex workflows for real-time data gathering, transferring, storage, and processing, quickly overwhelming centralized cloud centers. Recently, the computing continuum that federates the Cloud services with emerging Fog and Edge devices represents a relevant alternative for supporting the next-generation data processing workflows. However, eminent challenges in automating data processing across the computing continuum still exist, such as scheduling heterogeneous devices across the Cloud, Fog, and Edge layers. We propose a new scheduling algorithm called C-3-MATCH, based on matching theory principles, involving two sets of players negotiating different utility functions: 1) workflow microservices that prefer computing devices with lower data processing and queuing times; 2) computing continuum devices that prefer microservices with corresponding resource requirements and less data transmission time. We evaluate C-3-MATCH using real-world road sign inspection and sentiment analysis workflows on a federated computing continuum across four Cloud, Fog, and Edge providers. Our combined simulation and real execution results reveal that C-3-MATCH achieves up to 67% lower completion time than three state-of-the-art methods with 10 ms-1000 ms higher transmission time.