Using Stochastic Information to Predict Application Behavior on
Contended Resources D</A>
Jennifer M. Schopf and Francine Berman
International Journal of Foundations of Computer Science, Special
Issue on Parallel Distributed Computing, June 2001.

This paper address the use of stochastic values to parameterize
performance models.  Whereas a point value provides a
single value representation of a quantity, a stochastic value
provides a set of possible values to represent a range of likely
behavior.  One way stochastic values can be represented is by an
upper bound and a lower bound for the range of possible values.
This paper describes a method for using upper and lower bound
information to parameterize application prediction models
in order to make better predictions about the application's
behavior in a contentious environment.  We demonstrate this
technique for a set of 4 applications under different workloads
on a production network of workstations.