Web services intend to provide an application integration technology that can be successfully used over the Internet in a secure, interoperable and trusted manner. Policies are high-level guidelines defining the way an institution conducts its activities. The WS-Policy standard describes how to apply policies of security definition, enforcement of access control, authentication and logging. WS-Trust defines a security token service and a trust engine which are used by web services to authenticate other web services. Using the functions defined in WS-Trust, applications can engage in secure communication after establishing trust. BPEL is a language for web service composition that intends to provide convenient and effective means for application integration over the Internet. We address security considerations in BPEL and how to enforce them, as well as its interactions with other web services standards such as WS-Security and WS-Policy. / by Ola Ajaj. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This thesis looks at three aspects related to the design of E-commerce systems, online auctions and distributed grid computing systems. We show how formal verification techniques from computer science can be applied to ensure correctness of system design and implementation at the code level. Through e-ticket sales example, we demonstrate that model checking can locate subtle but critical flaws that traditional control and auditing methods (e.g., penetration testing, analytical procedure) most likely miss. Auditors should understand formal verification methods, enforce engineering to use them to create designs with less of a chance of failure, and even practice formal verification themselves in order to offer credible control and assistance for critical e-systems. Next, we study why many online auctions offer fixed buy prices to understand why sellers and auctioneers voluntarily limit the surplus they can get from an auction. We show when either the seller of the dibbers are risk-averse, a properly chosen fixed permanent buy-price can increase the social surplus and does not decrease the expected utility of the sellers and bidders, and we characterize the unique equilibrium strategies of uniformly risk-averse buyers in a buy-price auction. In the final chapter we look at the design of a distributed grid-computing system. We show how code-instrumentation can be used to generate a witness of program execution, and show how this witness can be used to audit the work of self-interested grid agents. Using a trusted intermediary between grid providers and customers, the audit allows payment to be contingent on the successful audit results, and it creates a verified reputation history of grid providers. We show that enabling the free trade of reputations provides economic incentives to agents to perform the computations assigned, and it induces increasing effort levels as the agents' reputation increases. We show that in such a reputation market only high-type agents would have incentive to purchase a high reputation, and only low-type agents would use low reputations, thus a market works as a natural signaling mechanism about the agents' type. / text

This thesis presents an approach to design, specify, validate, verify, implement, and evaluate composed web/grid services. Web and grid services can be composed to create new services with complex behaviours. The BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) standard was created to enable the orchestration of web services, but there have also been investigation of its use for grid services. BPEL specifies the implementation of service composition but has no formal semantics; implementations are in practice checked by testing. Formal methods are used in general to define an abstract model of system behaviour that allows simulation and reasoning about properties. The approach can detect and reduce potentially costly errors at design time. CRESS (Communication Representation Employing Systematic Specification) is a domainindependent, graphical, abstract notation, and integrated toolset for developing composite web service. The original version of CRESS had automated support for formal specification in LOTOS (Language Of Temporal Ordering Specification), executing formal validation with MUSTARD (Multiple-Use Scenario Testing and Refusal Description), and implementing in BPEL4WS as the early version of BPEL standard. This thesis work has extended CRESS and its integrated tools to design, specify, validate, verify, implement, and evaluate composed web/grid services. The work has extended the CRESS notation to support a wider range of service compositions, and has applied it to grid services as a new domain. The thesis presents two new tools, CLOVE (CRESS Language-Oriented Verification Environment) and MINT (MUSTARD Interpreter), to respectively support formal verification and implementation testing. New work has also extended CRESS to automate implementation of composed services using the more recent BPEL standard WS-BPEL 2.0.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 88-95.

The control of modern audio studios is complex. Audio mixing desks have grown to the point where they contain thousands of parameters. The control surfaces of these devices do not reflect the routing and signal processing capabilities that the devices are capable of. Software audio mixing desk editors have been developed that allow for the remote control of these devices, but their graphical user interfaces retain the complexities of the audio mixing desk that they represent. In this thesis, we propose a grid approach to audio mixing. The developed grid audio mixing desk editor represents an audio mixing desk as a series of graphical routing matrices. These routing matrices expose the various signal processing points and signal flows that exist within an audio mixing desk. The routing matrices allow for audio signals to be routed within the device, and allow for the device’s parameters to be adjusted by selecting the appropriate signal processing points. With the use of the programming interfaces that are defined as part of the Studio Connections – Total Recall SDK, the audio mixing desk editor was integrated with compatible DAW applications to provide persistence of audio mixing desk parameter states. Many audio studios currently use digital networks to connect audio devices together. Audio and control signals are patched between devices through the use of software patchbays that run on computers. We propose a double grid-based FireWire patchbay aimed to simplify the patching of signals between audio devices on a FireWire network. The FireWire patchbay was implemented in such a way such that it can host software device editors that are Studio Connections compatible. This has allowed software device editors to be associated with the devices that are represented on the FireWire patchbay, thus allowing for studio wide control from a single application. The double grid-based patchbay was implemented such that it can be hosted by compatible DAW applications. Through this, the double grid-based patchbay application is able to provide the DAW application with the state of the parameters of the devices in a studio, as well as the connections between them. The DAW application may save this state data to its native song files. This state data may be passed back to the double grid-based patchbay when the song file is reloaded at a later stage. This state data may then be used by the patchbay to restore the parameters of the patchbay and its device editors to a previous state. This restored state may then be transferred to the hardware devices being represented by the patchbay.

Orientadores: Hugo Enrique Hernández-Figueroa, Marli de Freitas Gomes Hernández / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T00:31:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Freitas_IgorJoseFerreirade_M.pdf: 3550643 bytes, checksum: 47f42ac96909895e588fe72ae8cc8449 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Este trabalho tem por objetivo desenvolver os estágios de Pré e Pós-processamento de um pacote de simulação eletromagnética, batizado de SSAR-BR, e também de um ambiente de grades computacionais que permitirá a resolução de problemas eletromagnéticos de grande porte. O estágio de processamento já foi desenvolvido como parte de uma tese de doutorado pertencente ao grupo de pesquisa deste departamento e se baseia no método das Diferenças Finitas no Domínio do Tempo (FDTD). O estágio de Pré-Processamento envolve um modelador básico de duas e três dimensões para modelagem geométrica de dispositivos de telecomunicações (fontes radiantes, terminais móveis e antenas) e modelos biológicos (partes do corpo humano e cobaias). O estágio de Pós-Processamento, por outro lado, permite visualizar os resultados das simulações eletromagnéticas executadas, através de gráficos em duas e três dimensões. Estes dois estágios já foram desenvolvidos nas linguagens Java e OpenGL. O ambiente computacional paralelo está baseado no conceito de Grade Computacional (do inglês Grid), isto é, numa infra-estrutura de software e hardware que visa à integração de recursos computacionais geograficamente dispersos, interconectados através de uma rede, com o objetivo de compartilhar tais recursos sob determinadas políticas de acesso, formando um ambiente computacional escalável, de baixo custo e de alto desempenho. A camada de software localizada entre a aplicação do usuário e o sistema operacional responsável por controlar o acesso aos recursos da Grade Computacional, é chamada de middleware. O middleware adotado é o UNICORE 6, que se caracteriza por fornecer acesso aos recursos da Grade Computacional de forma transparente e segura, seguindo padrões abertos definidos pela comunidade OGF (Open Grid Forum / Abstract: The aim of this work is to develop the Pre and Post-Processing stages from an electromagnetic simulation suite, called SSAR-BR, and also a grid computational environment, which permits the execution of large electromagnetic problems. The processing stage, based in the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method, has been already developed as part of a doctorate thesis made by a researcher from this department. The Pre-processing stage involves a fundamental modeling tool capable to model telecommunications devices (radiant sources, mobile terminals and antennas) and biological models (human body parts and guinea-pig). On the other hand, the Post-Processing stage permits visualizing the electromagnetic simulations results in a two and three dimensions way. Both stages were developed in Java and OpenGL languages. The parallel computational environment is based on Grid Computing paradigm which consists in software and hardware infra-structure that integrates dispersed computational resources interconnected across a network. Its purpose is to share such resources under an access control policy and establishing a scalable, low-cost and high performance computational environment. The middleware is the layer between the user and operation systems responsible to manage the Grid resources and, for this work, the UNICORE 6 was adopted. The mainly reasons were its safe and transparent access to the distributed environment and, most important, it follows the open patterns from OGF (Open Grid Forum) community / Mestrado / Telecomunicações e Telemática / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Orientador: Eduardo Candido Xavier / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T10:12:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Peixoto_RobsonRobertoSouza_M.pdf: 1268588 bytes, checksum: ff8a093aa133696dcd5bbe31bc4d6e78 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Nesta dissertação estudamos algoritmos para resolver problemas de escalonamento de tarefas em grades computacionais. Dado um conjunto de tarefas submetidas a uma grade computacional, deve-se definir em quais recursos essas tarefas serão executadas. Algoritmos de escalonamento são empregados com o objetivo de minimizar o tempo necessário para executar todas as tarefas (makespan) que foram submetidas. Nosso foco é estudar os atuais algoritmos de escalonamento usados em grades computacionais e comparar estes algoritmos. Nesta dissertação apresentamos algoritmos onlines, aproximados e heurísticas para o problema. Como resultados novos, provamos fatores de aproximação para o algoritmo RR quando utilizado para resolver os problemas R; sit|Tj|Cmax, R; sit|Tj|TPCC, R; sit|Tj = L| Cmax e R; sit|Tj = L|TPCC é justo. Por fim, definimos uma interface que adiciona replicação de tarefas a qualquer algoritmo de escalonamento, onde nós mostramos a aproximação desta interface, e apresentamos uma comparação via simulação dos algoritmos sem e com replicação. Nossas simulações mostram que, com a utilização de replicação, houve a redução no makespan de até 80% para o algoritmo Min-min. Nas nossas análises também fazemos uso da métrica RTPCC que calcula exatamente a quantidade de instruções que foram usadas para executar todas as tarefas / Abstract: In this dissertation, we studied algorithms to solve task scheduling problems in computational grids. Given a task set that was submitted to a computational grid, the problem is to define in which resources these tasks will be executed and the order they will be executed. Scheduling algorithms are used in order to minimize the time required to execute all tasks (makespan). We studied the most recent scheduling algorithms proposed to be used in computational grids, and then compare them using simulations. In this dissertation we also present approximate algorithms and new heuristics for the problem. As new results, we proved approximation factors to the RR algorithm when applied to solve the problems R; sit|Tj|Cmax, R; sit|Tj|TPCC, R; sit|Tj = L| Cmax and R; sit|Tj = L|TPCC. Finally, we defined an interface that adds task replication capability to any scheduling algorithm. We then show approximation results for algorithms using this interface, and present a comparison of well know algorithms with and without replication. This comparison is done via simulation. Our simulations show that, with replication, there was up to 80% of reduction in the makespan to some algorithms like the Min-min / Mestrado / Teoria da Computação / Mestre em Ciência da Computação

Orientador: Edmundo Roberto Mauro Madeira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T12:20:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bittencourt_LuizFernando_M.pdf: 1217558 bytes, checksum: dcbdeb1eaf538ae17a83304451a73126 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Uma grade computacional é um sistema heterogêneo colaborativo, geograficamente distribuído, multi-institucional e dinâmico, onde qualquer recurso computacional ligado a uma rede, local ou não, é um potencial colaborador. Grades computacionais são atualmente um grande foco de estudos relacionados à execução de aplicações paralelas, tanto aquelas que demandam grande poder computacional quanto aquelas que se adaptam bem a ambientes distribuídos. Como os recursos de uma grade pertencem a vários domínios administrativos diferentes com políticas diferentes, cada recurso tem autonomia para participar ou deixar de participar da grade em qualquer momento. Essa característica dinâmica e a heterogeneidade tornam o escalonamento de aplicações, a gerência de recursos e a tolerância a falhas grandes desafios nesses sistemas. Particularmente, o escalonamento desempenha um papel de suma importância, pois é determinante no tempo de execução das aplicações. O escalonamento de tarefas é um problema NP-Completo [6], o que levou ao desenvolvimento de uma heurística para o problema de otimização associado. Neste trabalho apresentamos um escalonador de tarefas em grades computacionais baseado no Xavantes [3], um middleware que oferece suporte a execução de tarefas dependentes através de estruturas de controle hierárquicas chamadas controladores. O algoritmo desenvolvido, chamado de Path Clustering Heuristic (PCH), agrupa as tarefas com o objetivo de minimizar a comunicação entre os controladores e as tarefas, diminuindo o tempo de execução total do processo / Abstract: A computational grid is a collaborative heterogeneous, geographically distributed, multiinstitutional and dynamic system, where any computational resource with a network connection, local or remote, is a potential collaborator. In computational grids, problems related to the execution of parallel applications, those which need a lot of computational power, as well as those which fit well in distributed environments, are wide studied nowadays. As the grid resources belong to various different administrative domains with different policies, each resource has the autonomy to participate or leave the grid at any time. These dynamic and heterogeneous characteristics make the application scheduling, the resource management and the fault tolerance relevant issues on these systems. Particularly, the scheduler plays an important role, since it is determinative in the execution time of an application. The task scheduling problem is NP-Complete [6], what led to the development of a heuristic for the associated optimization problem. In this work we present a task scheduler for a computational grid based on Xavantes [3], a middleware that supports dependent task execution through control structures called controllers. The developed algorithm, called Path Clustering Heuristic (PCH), clusterizes tasks aiming to minimize the communication between controllers and tasks, reducing the process execution time / Mestrado / Sistemas de Computação / Mestre em Ciência da Computação

A k nearest neighbor query q retrieves k objects that lie closest to the query point q among a given set of objects P. With the availability of inexpensive location aware mobile devices, the continuous monitoring of such queries has gained lot of attention and many methods have been proposed for continuously monitoring the kNNs in highly dynamic environment. Multiple continuous queries require real-time results and both the objects and queries issue frequent location updates. Most popular spatial index, R-tree, is not suitable for continuous monitoring of these queries due to its inefficiency in handling frequent updates. Recently, the interest of database community has been shifting towards using grid-based index for continuous queries due to its simplicity and efficient update handling. For kNN queries, the order in which cells of the grid are accessed is very important. In this research, we present two efficient and effective grid access methods, CircularTrip and ArcTrip, that ensure that the number of cells visited for any continuous kNN query is minimum. Our extensive experimental study demonstrates that CircularTrip-based continuous kNN algorithm outperforms existing approaches in terms of both efficiency and space requirement. Moreover, we show that CircularTrip and ArcTrip can be used for many other variants of nearest neighbor queries like constrained nearest neighbor queries, farthest neighbor queries and (k + m)-NN queries. All the algorithms presented for these queries preserve the properties that they visit minimum number of cells for each query and the space requirement is low. Our proposed techniques are flexible and efficient and can be used to answer any query that is hybrid of above mentioned queries. For example, our algorithms can easily be used to efficiently monitor a (k + m) farthest neighbor query in a constrained region with the flexibility that the spatial conditions that constrain the region can be changed by the user at any time.

The execution of parallel discrete event simulation across metacomputing infrastructures is examined. A master/worker architecture for parallel discrete event simulation is proposed providing robust executions under a dynamic set of services with system-level support for fault tolerance, semi-automated client-directed load balancing, portability across heterogeneous machines, and the ability to run codes on idle or time-sharing clients without significant interaction by users. Research questions and challenges associated with issues and limitations with the work distribution paradigm, targeted computational domain, performance metrics, and the intended class of applications to be used in this context are analyzed and discussed. A portable web services approach to master/worker parallel discrete event simulation is proposed and evaluated with subsequent optimizations to increase the efficiency of large-scale simulation execution through distributed master service design and intrinsic overhead reduction. New techniques for addressing challenges associated with optimistic parallel discrete event simulation across metacomputing such as rollbacks and message unsending with an inherently different computation paradigm utilizing master services and time windows are proposed and examined. Results indicate that a master/worker approach utilizing loosely coupled resources is a viable means for high throughput parallel discrete event simulation by enhancing existing computational capacity or providing alternate execution capability for less time-critical codes.