Approximate computing for application performance in heterogeneous systems

A system for determining a task configuration to meet the specified deadlines of a plurality of tasks of a real-time heterogeneous network, the system comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory communicatively coupled to the processor and the memory contains instructions that are readable by the processor;
• a task consideration module is configured to select a task from the plurality of tasks in a linear workflow of the real-time heterogeneous network;
• a realization module is configured to consider a realization from a plurality of realizations of the selected task, wherein the plurality of realizations approximate errors of the selected task and a relative quality among the plurality of realizations of the selected task;
• a configuration analyzing module is configured to analyze a plurality of configurations for the selected task, wherein each of the plurality of configurations depends on a plurality of implementations and a plurality of physical parts of the heterogeneous network;
• and
• a decision module is configured to estimate the execution time for each of the analyzed plurality of configurations, further wherein the decision module determines a configuration for the selected task based on the least execution time estimation for each of the plurality of tasks to meet the specified deadlines of the workflow of a real-time heterogeneous network.

A computer readable medium storing instructions for determining a configuration of a plurality of tasks to meet the specified deadline of a linear workflow of a real-time heterogeneous network, the instructions comprise:

• selecting a task from the plurality of tasks in the linear workflow of the real-time heterogeneous network using a task consideration module;
• considering a realization from a plurality of realizations of the selected task using a realization module, wherein the plurality of realizations approximate errors of the selected task and a relative quality among the plurality of realizations of the selected task;
• defining a realization index based on the considered realization of the selected task of the linear workflow;
• analyzing a plurality of configurations for the selected task using a configuration analyzing module, wherein each of the plurality of configurations depends on a plurality of implementations and a plurality of physical parts of the heterogeneous network;
• estimating execution time for each of the analyzed plurality of configurations using a decision module, wherein the estimation follows a recursive routine and completes the execution within the specified deadline on the cost of quality of output;
• and
• determining a configuration for the selected task based on the least execution time estimation for each of the plurality of tasks to meet the specified deadlines of the workflow of a real-time heterogeneous network.