A multiagent-system for automated resource allocation in the it infrastructure of a medium-sized internet service provider

Abstract

In this article we present an agent-based system that is designed for the automated allocation of web hosting services to the IT resources at a medium-sized Internet service provider (ISP). The system is capable of finding a cost minimizing allocation of web hosting services on the distributed IT infrastructure of the ISP. For this purpose an agent which can independently determine a price for each package of web hosting services is assigned to each resource. The allocation mechanism employs a system of price and cost functions to form an economic model which guarantees a continuous capacity load for the companies' IT resources. According to the demand for web hosting services, resource agents can invest in the acquisition of IT infrastructure. These investments have to be amortized by the resource agents using the returns yielded by the web services sold to the ISP customers. By using real world demand profiles for web services packages taken from the operational systems of a medium-sized ISP, we were able to prove the stability of the resource allocation system. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.