Modeling and Optimization of Straggling Mappers

MapReduce framework is widely used to parallelize batch jobs since it exploits a high degree of multi-tasking to process them. However, it has been observed that when the number of mappers increases, the map phase can take much longer than expected. This paper analytically shows that stochastic behavior of mapper nodes has a negative effect on the completion time of a MapReduce job, and continuously increasing the number of mappers without accurate scheduling can degrade the overall performance. We analytically capture the effects of stragglers (delayed mappers) on the performance. Based on a response time distribution of mappers, we then model the map phase by means of hardware, system, and application parameters. Mean sojourn time (MST), the time needed to sync the completed map tasks at one reducer, is mathematically formulated. Following that, we optimize MST by finding the task inter-arrival time to each mapper node. The optimal mapping problem leads to an equilibrium property investigated for different types of inter-arrival and service time distributions in a heterogeneous datacenter (i.e., a datacenter with different types of nodes). Our experimental results show the performance and important parameters of the different types of schedulers targeting MapReduce applications. We also show that, in the case of mixed deterministic and stochastic schedulers, there is an optimal scheduler that can always achieve the lowest MST.