GPU parallelization strategies for metaheuristics: a survey

ABSTRACT

Metaheuristics have been showing interesting results in solving hard optimization problems. However, they become limited in terms of effectiveness and runtime for high dimensional problems. Thanks to the independency of metaheuristics components, parallel computing appears as an attractive choice to reduce the execution time and to improve solution quality. By exploiting the increasing performance and programability of graphics processing units (GPUs) to this aim, GPU-based parallel metaheuristics have been implemented using different designs. Recent results in this area show that GPUs tend to be effective co-processors for leveraging complex optimization problems. In this survey, mechanisms involved in GPU programming for implementing parallel metaheuristics are presented and discussed through a study of relevant research papers.

Metaheuristics can obtain satisfying results when solving optimization problems in a reasonable time. However, they suffer from the lack of scalability. Metaheuristics become limited ahead complex high-dimensional optimization problems. To overcome this limitation, GPU based parallel computing appears as a strong alternative. Thanks to GPUs, parallel metaheuristics achieved better results in terms of computation, and even solution quality.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Metaheuristics
• optimization problems
• GPU
• survey

Notes

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.