Minimum-energy virtual machine placement using embedded sensors and machine learning

Cloud data centers (DCs) consume large amounts of energy and contribute significantly to environmental concerns. Furthermore, with the advent of 5G and B5G networks, increasingly software-oriented and becoming highly dependent on cloud computing, it becomes imperative to optimize their energy consumption. Thus, in this study, we present a virtual machine placement algorithm that minimizes the energy consumption of a cluster of server machines. Our solution is embodied through the use of sensors embedded inside physical server machines, enabling the introduction of new features for sensitive thermal awareness and proactive hot spot avoidance. Leveraging this significantly enhanced feature space, we implement data-driven predictive machine learning models along with a heuristic placement algorithm (CPP), enabling proactive VM placements that are both energy-aware and thermal-aware. Indeed, experiments carried out on a cluster of physical server machines demonstrate high performance by both the ML models and the placement algorithm (CPP). Compared with the best baseline algorithm, our solution reduced power consumption and temperature by 7% and 2%, respectively, while avoiding hot spots and maintaining efficient load distribution, thereby reducing the overhead of physical machines by 28%.