Trust model for reliable node allocation based on daily computer usage behavior

Summary Resource volatility is a major challenge on desktop grid platforms with characteristics that primarily depend on human computer usage behavior. This study proposes a trust model based on Dempster–Shafer theory that predicts the relative reliability of nodes using information on daily computer usage behavior based on the historical information from a desktop grid platform for a desktop grid. In the proposed trust model, called TM-DG, a degree of trustworthiness is introduced for the nodes to quantify their reliability. Dempster's rule of combination is also applied to exploit two bodies of independent evidence: 1) current node availability as actively probed by a special test node and 2) proportion of allocated tasks successfully completed. The simulations performed on a lightweight desktop grid platform illustrate how TM-DG can fully utilize the most reliable nodes for a given computation, leading to a reduction in the communication overhead and an improvement in the computing power of the platform.