This paper presents a novel methodology to develop scheduling algorithms. The scheduling problem is phrased as a control problem, and control-theoretical techniques are used to design a scheduling algorithm that meets specific requirements. Unlike most approaches to feedback scheduling, where a controller integrates a "basic" scheduling algorithm and dynamically tunes its parameters and hence its performances, our methodology essentially reduces the design of a scheduling algorithm to the synthesis of a controller that closes the feedback loop. This approach allows the re-use of control-theoretical techniques to design efficient scheduling algorithms; it frames and solves the scheduling problem in a general setting; and it can naturally tackle certain peculiar requirements such as robustness and dynamic performance tuning. A few experiments demonstrate the feasibility of the approach on a real-time benchmark.
Preface. PART I: BACKGROUND. 1. Introduction and Overview. PART II: SYSTEM MODELING. 2. Model Construction. 3. Z-Transforms and Transfer Functions. 4. System Modeling with Block Diagrams. 5. First-Order Systems. 6. Higher-Order Systems. 7. State-Space Models. PART III: CONTROL ANALYSIS AND DESIGN. 8. Proportional Control. 9. PID Controllers. 10. State-Space Feedback Control. 11. Advanced Topics. Appendix A: Mathematical Notation. Appendix B: Acronyms. Appendix C: Key Results. Appendix D: Essentials of Linear Algebra. Appendix E: MATLAB Basics. References. Index.