Abstract: A method for server allocation in a Web server “farm” is based on limited information regarding future loads to achieve close to the greatest possible revenue based on the assumption that revenue is proportional to the utilization of servers and differentiated by customer class. The method of server allocation uses an approach of “discounting the future”. Specifically, when the policy faces the choice between a guaranteed benefit immediately and a potential benefit in the future, the decision is made by comparing the guaranteed benefit value with a discounted value of the potential future benefit. This discount factor is exponential in the number of time units that it would take a potential benefit to be materialized. The future benefits are discounted because by the time a benefit will be materialized, things might change and the algorithm might decide to make another choice for a potential (even greater) benefit.

Abstract: An optimization problem models the dynamic placement of applications on servers under two types of simultaneous resource requirements, those that are dependent on the loads placed on the applications and those that are independent. The demand (load) for applications changes over time and the goal is to satisfy all the demand while changing the solution (assignment of applications to servers) as little as possible.