Resource Allocation for Wide-Area Networks Based on Economic Models

诸如互联网的现代网络由具有异构目标的人类共享，这使得资源分配不平凡，因为通常有多个目标函数要优化，这些目标函数经常相互冲突。在这样的环境中，由于网络应用程序的使用情况不同，系统性能的评价标准也不同，这使得情况变得非常复杂，我们引入了应用服务质量（applicationQoS）的概念来简化这种情况，应用服务质量是指应用程序提供给用户的服务质量。我们考虑到应用服务质量对每个用户的分配决定了整个系统的性能，需要建立一种方法来实现有效的资源分配，使每个用户在共享环境下最大化自己的效用。我们的方法是使用一个计算市场，在这个市场中，代表用户和网络应用程序的代理人购买/出售代表网络资源和应用服务质量的商品，通过价格调整机制实现有效的资源分配。本研究探讨了一种分散的方法，通过一个动态的市场分配QoS。在我们的方法中，每个代理人根据其本地知识和兴趣做出决策，并调整价格以清理每种资源的市场。代理需求和网络状态的动态变化导致代理不断修改其决策。市场价格反映了系统范围内的价值，诱导代理人生产和消费适量的各种资源。通过实施网络控制机制，我们验证了这一想法。其中一个应用程序是FreeWalk，一个具有虚拟3D公共的桌面会议系统，另一个应用程序是QoS Market，它通过利用移动的代理技术，以有效的方式控制内联网大小的网络。10

Modern networks such as the Internet are shared by humans with heterogeneous objectives which makes the resource allocation non trivial, in that there usually are multiple objective functions to optimize which often conflict with each other. In such an environment, the criteria to evaluate the system performance varies person to person because of their different usage of network application programs, which makes the situation quite complex.We simplify this situation by incorporating a concept called application QoS, which is the quality of the services that are provided by the application programs and enjoyed by their users. We consider that the allocation of application QoS to each user determines the overall system performance, and it is required to establish a method to achieve efficient resource allocation allowing every user to maximize their own utility under the shared environment.Our approach here is to use a computational market, where agents that represent users and network application programs buy/sell goods that represent network resource and application QoS, to achieve efficient resource allocation through price adjustment mechanism.This research explores a decentralized approach that allocates QoS through a dynamic market. In our approach, each agent makes decisions according to its local knowledge and interests, and prices adjust to clear the market in each resource. Dynamic changes in agent needs and network status cause the agents to revise their decisions continually. The market prices reflect system-wide values, inducing agents to produce and consume appropriate amounts of the various resources.By implementing the mechanism for the network control, we verified the idea. One application is FreeWalk, a desktop meeting system with virtual 3D Common, and another is QoS Market, which controls a network of the size of intranets in a efficient fashion, by utilizing mobile agent technology.10