A formal credit-based incentive model for sharing computer resources

Abstract

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) computing, the harnessing of idle CPU cycles through the Internet, offers new research challenges in the domain of distributed computing. This paper presents an incentive mechanism based on credits, designed to operate on different types of shared computing networks such as P2P, P2P Grid, Opportunistic Grid, Desktop Grid, volunteer computing platforms, and so on. The main contribution is a new reinvestment policy called Weighted that increases peer participation significantly. This mechanism reflects P2P user dynamics, penalizes free-riders efficiently and encourages peer participation. Simulation results show that our policy outperforms alternative approaches, maximizing system throughput and limiting free-riding behaviour. Furthermore, a mathematical model has been proposed and analysed in order to formalize the policy and setting up the configuration of the principal parameters of the incentive mechanism. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.