Network-sensitive service discovery

We consider the problem of network-sensitive service selection (NSSS): finding services that match a particular set of functional and network properties. Current solutions handle this problem using a two-step process. First, a user obtains a list of candidates through service discovery. Then, the user applies a network-sensitive server selection technique to find the best service. Such approaches are complex and expensive since each user has to solve the NSSS problem independently. In this paper, we present a simple alternative: network-sensitive service discovery (NSSD). By integrating network-sensitivity into the service discovery process, NSSD allows users who are looking for services to specify both the desired functional and network properties at the same time. Users benefit since they only have to solve a restricted version of the server selection problem. Moreover, NSSD can solve the NSSS problem more efficiently by amortizing the overhead over many users.We present the design of NSSD, a prototype implementation, and experimental results that illustrate how NSSD can be used for different applications. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.