MGST: A Framework for Performance Evaluation of Desktop Grids

Desktop Grids are rapidly gaining popularity as a cost-effective computing platform for the execution of applications with extensive computing needs. As opposed to grids and clusters, these systems are characterized by having a non-dedicated infrastructure. These unique characteristics need to be considered in developing resource management strategies for Desktop Grids. Several frameworks for the performance evaluation of resource management strategies have been suggested for grids. However, similar projects for Desktop Grids are still lacking. This paper presents MGST, the first performance testing framework for Desktop Grids. We discuss the design of the tool and show how it can be used to analyze and improve the performance of an existing Desktop Grid scheduling policy.