Virtual Machine Placement in a Heterogeneous Data Center

Technology Overview: A resource‑management method for mapping unassigned VMs onto heterogeneous physical machines (PMs) by iteratively activating only the needed PM subset and assigning VMs such that each VM’s multi‑dimensional resource demands (CPU, memory, etc.) fit the remaining PM capacities. The approach targets lower power use and higher utilization while respecting heterogeneity.

Industry Pain Point: Many VMP strategies either over‑activate servers or ignore heterogeneity, causing energy waste, hotspots, and SLA risk in large data centers.

NJIT Solution: Apply a dominant‑resource‑aware placement that jointly considers PM activation and VM mapping—reducing the number of active PMs while maintaining capacity headroom across dimensions.

Key Features & Advantages

• Iterative PM activation—turn on only what’s needed.
• Multi‑dimensional fit for CPU/memory/bandwidth constraints in heterogeneous fleets.
• Aligns with sustainability goals by potentially reducing active PM count and power.

Development Stage: TRL 3–4 – Algorithm/prototype.

Target Markets

• Cloud and data centers (IaaS providers)
• Enterprise virtualization platforms
• Edge data centers with diverse server SKUs