Modeling Load Balancing in Heterogeneous Unstructured P2P Systems

Load balancing is a generally concerned problem in peer-to-peer (P2P) systems. Many researches on load balancing in the structured P2P systems have been launched currently, such as Chord or other DHTs. Although the researches on load balancing in unstructured P2P systems are emerged nowadays, the simple mechanisms achieved can only perform effectively in uniform environment. In this study, the influence on load balancing of the heterogeneity existed universally in unstructured P2P systems are analyzed, the unstructured P2P systems and their load balancing and the heterogeneity are modeled. Based on the formal model, the load balancing is analyzed quantitatively under static and dynamic environment and the typical load balancing algorithms are also analyzed. Some important conclusions are drawn which can be used in new models of load balancing in unstructured P2P systems.