A lightweight platform for integration of mobile devices into pervasive grids

Abstract

For future generation Grids to be truly pervasive we need to allow for the integration of mobile devices, in order to leverage available resources and broaden the range of supplied services. For this integration to be realized, we must reconsider the design aspects of Grid systems that currently assume a relatively stable and resourceful environment. We propose the use of a lightweight Grid platform suitable for resource limited devices, coupled with a proxy-based architecture to allow the utilization of various mobile devices in the form of a single virtual 'cluster'. This virtualization will hide the heterogeneity and dynamicity, mask the failures and quietly recover from them, provide centralized management and monitoring and allow for the federation of similar services or resources towards advanced functionality, quality of service, and enhanced performance. In this paper we are presenting the major functional components of the platform. This research work is carried out partly under the FP6 Network of Excellence CoreGRID funded by the European Commission (Contract IST-2002-004265).