Resource allocation (computer)
{{short description|Process for meeting the hardware requirements of a software application}}
{{dicdef|date=April 2025}}
Resource allocation is the process by which a computing system aims to meet the hardware requirements of an application run by it.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a4-wDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA277 |pages=277–279 |title=Mission-Oriented Sensor Networks and Systems: Art and Science |year=2019 |isbn=9783319911465 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |editor=Habib M. Ammari}} Computing, networking and energy resources must be optimised taking into account hardware, performance and environmental restrictions.{{cite journal |last1=Sharkh |first1=M.A. |last2=Jammal |first2=M. |last3=Shami |first3=A. |last4=Ouda |first4=A. |year=2013 |title=Resource allocation in a network-based cloud computing environment: design challenges |journal=IEEE Communications Magazine |volume=51 |issue=11 |pages=46–52 |publisher=IEEE|doi=10.1109/MCOM.2013.6658651 |arxiv=1309.1208 |s2cid=17925294 }} This process may be undertaken by the hardware itself,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wjnkV9DjTksC&pg=PA458 |page=458 |title=Computer Networks ISE, A Systems Approach |author1=Larry L. Peterson |author2=Bruce S. Davie |year=2007 |isbn=9780080502564 |publisher=Elsevier Science}} an operating system, a distributed computing system,{{cite journal |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016781911300121X |journal=Parallel Computing |volume=39 |issue=11 |year=2013 |pages=709–736 |publisher=Elsevier |title=A survey on resource allocation in high performance distributed computing systems
|author1=Hameed Hussain |author2=Saif Ur Rehman Malik |author3=Abdul Hameed |author4=Samee Ullah Khan |author5=Gage Bickler |author6=Nasro Min-Allah |author7=Muhammad Bilal Qureshi |author8=Limin Zhang |author9=Wang Yongji |author10=Nasir Ghani |author11=Joanna Kolodziej |author12=Albert Y.Zomaya |author13=Cheng-Zhong Xu |author14=Pavan Balaji |author15=Abhinav Vishnu |author16=Fredric Pinel |author17=Johnatan E.Pecero |author18=Dzmitry Kliazovich |author19=Ammar Rayes |doi=10.1016/j.parco.2013.09.009}} or as part of data center management.