A theoretical and computational basis for CATNETS

The main content of this report is the identification and definition of market mechanisms for Application Layer Networks (ALNs). On basis of the structured Market Engineering process, the work comprises the identification of requirements which adequate market mechanisms for ALNs have to fulfill. Subsequently, two mechanisms for each, the centralized and the decentralized case are described in this document. These build the theoretical foundation for the work within the following two years of the CATNETS project. --Grid Computing

Theoretical and Computational Basis for Economical Ressource Allocation in Application Layer Networks - Annual Report Year 1

This paper identifies and defines suitable market mechanisms for Application Layer Networks (ALNs). On basis of the structured Market Engineering process, the work comprises the identification of requirements which adequate market mechanisms for ALNs have to fulfill. Subsequently, two mechanisms for each, the centralized and the decentralized case are described in this document. --Grid Computing

Supercomputing futures : the next sharing paradigm for HPC resources : economic model, market analysis and consequences for the Grid

À la croisée des chemins du génie informatique, de la finance et de l'économétrie, cette thèse se veut fondamentalement un exercice en ingénierie économique dont l' objectif est de contribuer un système novateur, durable et adaptatif pour le partage de resources de calcul haute-performance. Empruntant à la finance fondamentale et à l'analyse technique, le modèle proposé construit des ratios et des indices de marché à partir de statistiques transactionnelles. Cette approche, encourageant les comportements stratégiques, pave la voie à une métaphore de partage plus efficace pour la Grid, où l'échange de ressources se voit maintenant pondéré. Le concept de monnaie de Grid, un instrument beaucoup plus liquide et utilisable que le troc de resources comme telles est proposé: les Grid Credits. Bien que les indices proposés ne doivent pas être considérés comme des indicateurs absolus et contraignants, ils permettent néanmoins aux négociants de se faire une idée de la valeur au marché des différentes resources avant de se positionner. Semblable sur de multiples facettes aux bourses de commodités, le Grid Exchange, tel que présenté, permet l'échange de resources via un mécanisme de double-encan. Néanmoins, comme les resources de super-calculateurs n'ont rien de standardisé, la plate-forme permet l'échange d'ensemble de commodités, appelés requirement sets, pour les clients, et component sets, pour les fournisseurs. Formellement, ce modèle économique n'est qu'une autre instance de la théorie des jeux non-coopératifs, qui atteint éventuellement ses points d'équilibre. Suivant les règles du "libre-marché", les utilisateurs sont encouragés à spéculer, achetant, ou vendant, à leur bon vouloir, l'utilisation des différentes composantes de superordinateurs. En fin de compte, ce nouveau paradigme de partage de resources pour la Grid dresse la table à une nouvelle économie et une foule de possibilités. Investissement et positionnement stratégique, courtiers, spéculateurs et même la couverture de risque technologique sont autant d'avenues qui s'ouvrent à l'horizon de la recherche dans le domaine

Negotiated resource brokering for quality of service provision of grid applications

Grid Computing is a distributed computing paradigm where many computers often formed from different organisations work together so that their computing power may be aggregated. Grids are often heterogeneous and resources vary significantly in CPU power, available RAM, disk space, OS, architecture and installed software etc. Added to this lack of uniformity is that best effort services are usually offered, as opposed to services that offer guarantees upon completion time via the use of Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The lack of guarantees means the uptake of Grids is stifled. The challenge tackled here is to add such guarantees, thus ensuring users are more willing to use the Grid given an obvious reluctance to pay or contribute, if the quality of the services returned lacks any guarantees. Grids resources are also finite in nature, hence priorities need establishing in order to best meet any guarantees placed upon the limited resources available. An economic approach is hence adopted to ensure end users reveal their true priorities for jobs, whilst also adding incentive for provisioning services, via a service charge. An economically oriented model is therefore proposed that provides SLAs with bicriteria constraints upon time and cost. This model is tested via discrete event simulation and a simulator is presented that is capable of testing the model. An architecture is then established that was developed to utilise the economic model for negotiating SLAs. Finally experimentation is reported upon from the use of the software developed when it was deployed upon a testbed, including admission control and steering of jobs within the Grid. Results are presented that show the interactions and relationship between the time and cost constraints within the model, including transitions between the dominance of one constraint over the other and other things such as the effects of rescheduling upon the market

Engineering complex systems with multigroup agents

Doctor of PhilosophyComputing and Information SciencesScott A. DeLoachAs sensor prices drop and computing devices continue to become more compact and powerful, computing capabilities are being embedded throughout our physical environment. Connecting these devices in cyber-physical systems (CPS) enables applications with significant societal impact and economic benefit. However, engineering CPS poses modeling, architecture, and engineering challenges and, to fully realize the desired benefits, many outstanding challenges must be addressed. For the cyber parts of CPS, two decades of work in the design of autonomous agents and multiagent systems (MAS) offers design principles for distributed intelligent systems and formalizations for agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE). MAS foundations offer a natural fit for enabling distributed interacting devices. In some cases, complex control structures such as holarchies can be advantageous. These can motivate complex organizational strategies when implementing such systems with a MAS, and some designs may require agents to act in multiple groups simultaneously. Such agents must be able to manage their multiple associations and assignments in a consistent and unambiguous way. This thesis shows how designing agents as systems of intelligent subagents offers a reusable and practical approach to designing complex systems. It presents a set of flexible, reusable components developed for OBAA++, an organization-based architecture for single-group MAS, and shows how these components were used to develop the Adaptive Architecture for Systems of Intelligent Systems (AASIS) to enable multigroup agents suitable for complex, multigroup MAS. This work illustrates the reusability and flexibility of the approach by using AASIS to simulate a CPS for an intelligent power distribution system (IPDS) operating two multigroup MAS concurrently: one providing continuous voltage control and a second conducting discrete power auctions near sources of distributed generation