Evaluation of Optimal Resource Allocation Method for Cloud Computing Environments with Limited Electric Power Capacity

Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources. To provide cloud computing services, it is required to allocate bandwidth to access the processing ability simultaneously. It would be also necessary in the future to consider the case where ICT equipment operates under the condition that the total electric power supply available is restricted, because the percentage of electric power generated by renewable energy, such as photovoltaic power generation and wind power energy, will continue to rise and the power generated by these natural means varies over time considerably. First, this paper presents cloud resource allocation guidelines in the case where there is a limit to electric power capacity available in each area, assuming a cloud computing environment in which both processing ability and network bandwidth are allocated simultaneously. Next, it proposes a method for optimally allocating both processing ability and bandwidth as well as electric power capacity. Optimal allocation means that the number of requests that can be processed is maximized, and the power consumed by a request is minimized. It is demonstrated by simulation evaluations that the proposed method is effective. Finally, this paper presents an algorithm that attempts to reduce total electric power consumption by aggregating request processing of multiple areas.