On utilization of contributory storage in desktop grids

Modern desktop grid environments and shared computing platforms have popularized the use of contributory resources, such as desktop computers, as computing substrates for a variety of applications. However, addressing the exponentially growing storage demands of applications, especially in a contributory environment, remains a challenging research problem. In this paper, we propose a transparent distributed storage system that harnesses the storage contributed by desktop grid participants arranged in a peer-to-peer network to yield a scalable, robust, and self-organizing system. The novelty of our work lies in (i) design simplicity to facilitate actual use; (ii) support for easy integration with grid platforms; (iii) innovative use of striping and error coding techniques to support very large data files; and (iv) the use of multicast techniques for data replication. Experimental results through large-scale simulations, verification on PlanetLab, and an actual implementation show that our system can provide reliable and efficient storage with support for large files for desktop grid applications.