Detailed Description

Distributed systems, such as peer-to-peer applications or grids, only work, if each single node takes part in the ongoing work in addition to benefiting from offered services. Offering services conflicts with benefiting from the system, the goal of each participant. Therefore incentives have to be introduced, which motivate each node to bring forth the system as a whole. Literature suggests that only that nodes profit from the system, which offered services. Thereby the homogeneity of all nodes with in the system is often assumed. Within grids this assumption is not realistic. Here several systems with a wide range of different capabilities are connected. Within this project we design and analyse incentive mechanisms in grids without central coordinator. We reward nodes for cooperative behaviour by fast processing their jobs. Another problem within this context is the unbalanced utilisation of the grid. Especially during night hours or during holidays several resources remain unused. We will analyse how to solve these problems using decentralised incentive mechanisms.