Utility-optimized scheduling of time-sensitive tasks in a resource-constrained environment

A method for scheduling tasks in a computer system, the method comprising:

• receiving, by at least one processor, a task to be scheduled for execution within a computer system from a device, the received task including a time dependent task utility function;
• determining, by the at least one processor, a time window for the received task to be scheduled for execution on the computer system based on the time dependent task utility function of the received task;
• identifying, by the at least one processor, a plurality of other tasks previously scheduled to be executed on the computer system within the time window of the received task;
• identifying, by the at least one processor, a plurality of candidate schedules, the plurality of candidate schedules including a first candidate schedule and a second candidate schedule, the first and second candidate schedules being different scheduling combinations of the received task and the plurality of other tasks;
• calculating, by the at least one processor, a task utility value for each task included within the first and second candidate schedules based upon a corresponding time dependent task utility function;
• calculating, by the at least one processor, a first overall utility value for the first candidate schedule based on the calculated task utility values for the tasks within the first candidate schedule and a second overall utility value for the second candidate schedule based on the calculated task utility values for the tasks within the second candidate schedule;
• selecting, by the at least one processor, a schedule among the plurality of candidate schedules based on the first and second overall utility values;
• and
• queuing, by the at least one processor, the received task for execution according to the selected schedule.

A computer program product tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and including executable code that, when executed, is configured to cause at least one processor to:

• receive a task to be scheduled for execution within a computer system, the received task defining a time dependent task utility function, the time dependent task utility function providing a task utility value that is dependent on a time of execution;
• identify a plurality of other tasks scheduled to be executed on the computer system within a time window associated with the new task;
• evaluate a plurality of candidate schedules based on the time dependent task utility function associated with the received task, each of the plurality of candidate schedules being different scheduling combinations of the received task and the plurality of other tasks;
• and
• provide at least one of the plurality of candidate schedules for display based on an outcome of the evaluation.

A method for utility-optimized scheduling of computer system tasks, the method comprising:

• determining, by a processor within a first computer system, a time window comprising a candidate schedule for a new task to be executed on a second computer system;
• identifying, by the processor, a plurality of other tasks scheduled to be executed on the second computer system within said time window;
• identifying, by the processor, a plurality of candidate schedules having associated time dependent task utility functions that includes specification of the execution times for at least one of a plurality of tasks, the plurality of tasks including the new task and the plurality of other tasks;
• calculating, by the processor, an overall utility for each candidate schedule based upon the associated time dependent task utility calculated for each of the plurality of tasks when scheduled according to each corresponding candidate schedule;
• and
• queuing for execution, by the processor, the candidate schedule having highest overall utility.