Resource Allocation for Wide-Area Networks Based on Economic Models

现代网络，如互联网，是由具有不同目标的人类共享的，这使得资源分配不是微不足道的，因为通常有多个目标函数需要优化，这些目标函数往往相互冲突。在这样的环境中，由于网络应用程序的使用情况不同，评价系统性能的标准因人而异，这使得情况变得相当复杂，我们通过引入应用程序服务质量的概念来简化这种情况，应用程序提供的服务质量是由应用程序提供并由其用户享受的服务质量。考虑到为每个用户分配的应用服务质量决定了系统的整体性能，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；我们的方法是使用计算市场，在计算市场中，代表用户的代理和网络应用程序买卖代表网络资源和应用服务质量的商品，通过价格调整机制来实现有效的资源分配。在我们的方法中，每个代理根据其当地的知识和利益做出决策，价格调整以清理每一种资源的市场。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。市场价格反映了整个系统的价值，促使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，验证了这一想法。一个应用是FreeWalk，这是一个具有虚拟3D Common的桌面会议系统，另一个是Qos Market，它通过利用移动代理技术以高效的方式控制内部网大小的网络。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