A Game based Approach to Comparing Different Coordination Mechanisms
Kenneth M. Ford, Neeraj Suri, Karel Košnar, Pavel Jisl, Petr Benda, Michal Pěchouček, Libor Přeučil · 2008
Abstract—Achieving coordinated behavior among multiple physical or logical entities is a challenging problem. Research in coordination has traditionally focused on either centralized or distributed approaches, but both approaches have inherent problems. The Process Integrated Mechanism (PIM) is a novel approach to coordination that relies on strong mobility to rapidly move a single process (the Coordinating Process or CP) among all the nodes that are part of the PIM. The continuous migration of a single process that performs the coordination combines the best of centralized and distributed approaches- simplicity of programming and reliability without a single point of failure. This paper proposes a method for the comparison of a traditional distributed approach based on Multi Agent Systems (MAS) and the new PIM approach. A simplified version of the Capture-the-Flag game is used for evaluation. One side is controlled by the MAS whereas the other side is controlled by the PIM. The paper analyzes the complexity and performance of each solution and provides a means to compare and contrast the two approaches. I.