Entropy, Vol. 25, Pages 259: A Parallel Multiobjective PSO Weighted Average Clustering Algorithm Based on Apache Spark (Entropy)

Multiobjective clustering algorithm using particle swarm optimization has been applied successfully in some applications. However, existing algorithms are implemented on a single machine and cannot be directly parallelized on a cluster, which makes it difficult for existing algorithms to handle large-scale data. With the development of distributed parallel computing framework, data parallelism was proposed. However, the increase in parallelism will lead to the problem of unbalanced data distribution affecting the clustering effect. In this paper, we propose a parallel multiobjective PSO weighted average clustering algorithm based on apache Spark (Spark-MOPSO-Avg). First, the entire data set is divided into multiple partitions and cached in memory using the distributed parallel and memory-based computing of Apache Spark. The local fitness value of the particle is calculated in parallel according to the data in the partition. After the calculation is completed, only particle information is transmitted, and there is no need to transmit a large number of data objects between each node, reducing the communication of data in the network and thus effectively reducing the algorithm’s running time. Second, a weighted average calculation of the local fitness values is performed to improve the problem of unbalanced data distribution affecting the results. Experimental results show that the Spark-MOPSO-Avg algorithm achieves lower information loss under data parallelism, losing about 1% to 9% accuracy, but can effectively reduce the algorithm time overhead. It shows good execution efficiency and parallel computing capability under the Spark distributed cluster.