Predicting parallel applications performance on non-dedicated cluster platforms

We address the problem of performance prediction for parallel programs executed on clusters of heterogeneous workstations on which resource contention is present. We develop a methodology for the construction of performance models whose analysis allows the estimation of the execution time of these programs. We use Timed Petri Nets to represent the behavior of parallel programs, and a contention model based on queueing theory to quantify the effects of resource contention on the execution time of the application processes. Our methodology is demonstrated through the construction of the model of an example program, which is also used to validate the predictions against measured execution times obtained by executing the program on two different clusters of workstations.