Distributed computing with mobile agents in unsafe networks

基于互联网的技术的广泛接受，在众多的系统（如电信的），以及网格系统的出现，基于事务的技术的普及，都强烈强调分布式算法在当今的计算世界中的至关重要性。此外，当在网络环境中计算时，移动的代理的使用变得越来越流行。但是，安全威胁的存在使所有任务的解决方案都变得非常复杂。也就是说，在支持移动的代理的系统中，安全性是最紧迫的问题，并且可能是最难以解决的问题。本研究的总体目标包括开发高效和可测试的分布式算法，使用移动的代理来解决不安全的网络中的非平凡的任务，也就是说，在安全威胁的存在。提出的研究被组织成三个广泛的目标：目标1：调查分布式算法在有害主机的存在;目标2：调查分布式算法在一个不安全的网络中使用移动的故障模型。目标3：开发一个可测试的模型，用于在不安全的网络中验证分布式算法。目标1特别关注具有有害主机的网络。我们特别感兴趣的解决方案，尽可能多地限制对代理和网络的要求（为了最大限度地提高实现这种解决方案的实际网络支持代理的可行性）。更具体地说，我们的目标是尽可能有效的算法，而不需要松散的约束（可能不切实际的）机制。与目标1相关的所有工作都植根于处理器故障模型的使用，即，故障定位在网络节点中的模型。相比之下，目标2采用更一般的移动的故障模型。目标2有两个方面：a）研究如何使在不安全网络中使用处理器故障模型的分布式算法适应于使用移动的故障模型，以及B）在采用移动的故障模型的不安全网络中开发新的有效分布式算法。最后，目标3解决了在不安全网络中测试分布式算法的问题。

The wide acceptance of Internet-based technologies, the pervasiveness of transaction-based techniques in a multitude of systems (such as telecommunication ones), as well as the emergence of Grid systems, all strongly emphasize the paramount importance of distributed algorithms in today's computing world. Also, the use of mobile agents is becoming increasingly popular when computing in networked environments. But the presence of security threats greatly complicates solutions for all but non-trivial tasks. That is, in systems supporting mobile agents, security is the most pressing concern, and possibly the most difficult to address. The overall objective of this research consists in developing efficient and testable distributed algorithms that use mobile agents to solve non-trivial tasks in unsafe networks, that is, in the presence of security threats. The proposed research is organized into three broad goals: Goal 1: Investigate distributed algorithms in the presence of harmful hosts;Goal 2: Investigate distributed algorithms in an unsafe network using the mobile faults model.;Goal 3: Develop a testable model for the validation of distributed algorithms in an unsafe network. Goal 1 specifically focuses on networks with harmful hosts. We are particularly interested in solutions that constrain as much as possible the requirements imposed on agents and network (in order to maximize the feasibility of the realization of such solutions on actual networks supporting agents). More specifically, we aim for algorithms that are as efficient as possible while not requiring loosely constrained (possibly unrealistic) mechanisms. All work pertaining to Goal 1 is rooted in the use of the processor failure model, that is, a model in which faults are localized in nodes of the network. In contrast, Goal 2 adopts the more general mobile faults model. Goal 2 is two-fold: a) investigate how to adapt distributed algorithms that use the processor failure model in an unsafe network to instead use the mobile faults model and b) develop new efficient distributed algorithms in unsafe networks that adopt the mobile faults model. Finally, Goal 3 addresses the testing of distributed algorithms in unsafe networks.