Optimizing Container Placement in Data Centers by Deep Reinforcement Learning

As our society becomes increasingly digitized, the demand for computing power provided by data centers continues to grow; consequently, operating costs are increasing exponentially. Data centers supply virtualized servers to customers, primarily in the form of lightweight containers. Since the numbe...

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Main Authors: Hyeonjeong Kim, Cheolhoon Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5720
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author Hyeonjeong Kim
Cheolhoon Lee
author_facet Hyeonjeong Kim
Cheolhoon Lee
author_sort Hyeonjeong Kim
collection DOAJ
description As our society becomes increasingly digitized, the demand for computing power provided by data centers continues to grow; consequently, operating costs are increasing exponentially. Data centers supply virtualized servers to customers, primarily in the form of lightweight containers. Since the number of containers to be allocated is fixed, they should be optimally placed on physical servers to minimize the number of required servers and reduce costs. However, current data center operations do not prioritize reducing the number of physical servers through optimized container placement. Instead, containers are distributed across existing servers primarily to maintain stability. Therefore, costs associated with servers, auxiliary facilities, and electricity consumption have increased. To address this issue, we propose an optimization method that ensures economic efficiency without compromising system stability. Specifically, we utilize deep reinforcement learning (DRL), which has been widely applied in various fields, to optimize container placement. Our approach outperforms traditional heuristic algorithms and offers the additional advantage of handling fixed-size inputs, enabling flexible operation regardless of the number of containers. Using DRL in container placement has further reduced the number of servers and operating costs while enhancing overall system flexibility.
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spelling doaj-art-ffb8b0c19a004eeba319643daf0fee402025-08-20T02:33:39ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-05-011510572010.3390/app15105720Optimizing Container Placement in Data Centers by Deep Reinforcement LearningHyeonjeong Kim0Cheolhoon Lee1Department of Computer Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Computer Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of KoreaAs our society becomes increasingly digitized, the demand for computing power provided by data centers continues to grow; consequently, operating costs are increasing exponentially. Data centers supply virtualized servers to customers, primarily in the form of lightweight containers. Since the number of containers to be allocated is fixed, they should be optimally placed on physical servers to minimize the number of required servers and reduce costs. However, current data center operations do not prioritize reducing the number of physical servers through optimized container placement. Instead, containers are distributed across existing servers primarily to maintain stability. Therefore, costs associated with servers, auxiliary facilities, and electricity consumption have increased. To address this issue, we propose an optimization method that ensures economic efficiency without compromising system stability. Specifically, we utilize deep reinforcement learning (DRL), which has been widely applied in various fields, to optimize container placement. Our approach outperforms traditional heuristic algorithms and offers the additional advantage of handling fixed-size inputs, enabling flexible operation regardless of the number of containers. Using DRL in container placement has further reduced the number of servers and operating costs while enhancing overall system flexibility.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5720data centerservercontainerplacement optimization
spellingShingle Hyeonjeong Kim
Cheolhoon Lee
Optimizing Container Placement in Data Centers by Deep Reinforcement Learning
Applied Sciences
data center
server
container
placement optimization
title Optimizing Container Placement in Data Centers by Deep Reinforcement Learning
title_full Optimizing Container Placement in Data Centers by Deep Reinforcement Learning
title_fullStr Optimizing Container Placement in Data Centers by Deep Reinforcement Learning
title_full_unstemmed Optimizing Container Placement in Data Centers by Deep Reinforcement Learning
title_short Optimizing Container Placement in Data Centers by Deep Reinforcement Learning
title_sort optimizing container placement in data centers by deep reinforcement learning
topic data center
server
container
placement optimization
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/10/5720
work_keys_str_mv AT hyeonjeongkim optimizingcontainerplacementindatacentersbydeepreinforcementlearning
AT cheolhoonlee optimizingcontainerplacementindatacentersbydeepreinforcementlearning