Patent ID: 8661129
Filing Date: 2014-02-25
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A grid of computing devices comprising a plurality of nodes having processors, the plurality of nodes comprising: a plurality of networked super-peers nodes (SPs); a plurality of peer nodes (peers) grouped into at least two groups, wherein the peers in a group are in data communication with one another, and each SP of the plurality of SPs is associated with a respective group of the at least two groups and in data communication with the peers in the group for forming a region; wherein an origin node receives a job including data and a request to perform an operation on the data and initiates advertising the job for requesting the plurality of nodes to participate in executing the requested operation on the data, wherein nodes of both the plurality of SPs and the plurality of peers are configured to be and are capable of being the origin node; at least one node of the plurality of nodes responds that it is available and capable of performing the requested operation; at least one node from the responding at least one node is selected by an SP of the plurality of SPs or a peer of the plurality of peers; portions of the job data are apportioned by an SP of the plurality of SPs or a peer of the plurality of peers to the selected at least one node; the respective portions of the job data are dispatched to the selected at least one node which they are apportioned to; the respective selected at least one node executes the requested operation on the respective portions of job data dispatched to them; the origin node advertises the job using a multicast protocol; the at least one node of the plurality of nodes responds using a unicast protocol; wherein each of the plurality of SPs and the plurality of peers includes a physical resource, wherein the selected at least one node is selected in accordance with at least one of a global ranking and a local ranking associated with the responding at least one node, wherein the global ranking is based on past performance of the physical resource associated with the ranked node as viewed by at least two nodes of the grid, and the local ranking is based on past performance of the physical resource associated with the ranked node as viewed by the origin node; and, wherein at least one of the selected at least one nodes includes a printing mechanism.