Intelligent VM Scheduling in Cloud Computing: Survey of Existing Methods and Proposal of a New Hybrid Heuristic-ML Framework

¹ Computer Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco
² Computer Sciences Department, FSDM, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Morocco

Published online: 3 August 2026

Abstract

This paper explores sophisticated Virtual Machine (VM) scheduling approaches in cloud computing and their significance to enhance resource distribution, improve system efficiency, and cost reduction. It provides a recent overviews of key scheduling algorithms, including heuristic, metaheuristic, advanced machine learning-based and hybrid approaches, while assessing their respective strengths, weaknesses and practical applications. The discussion encompasses their applications in managing workloads, optimizing costs, enhancing energy efficiency, improving Quality of Service (QoS) and with a particular focus on scalability and real-time scheduling in cloud settings. Furthermore, the paper analyzes scheduling strategies adopted by major cloud providers through real-world case studies. Ultimately, our analysis identifies critical VM scheduling trade-offs, provides optimization guidelines, and validates the efficacy of hybrid adaptive methods via a new proposed heuristic-machine learning model for dynamic cloud environments.