Patent ID: 7472184

Claim:
A method for restricting resources consumed by ghost agents within a domain of a grid computing environment comprising the steps of: identifying a host, wherein the host is a software object operating within the grid environment and movable from one grid to another grid within the grid environment; associating a ghost agent with the host, wherein the ghost agent is configured to replicate and record at least one action of the host, wherein the ghost agent follows the movement of the associated host; registering the ghost agent with a ghost registry of the domain, wherein the ghost agent is de-registered when the ghost agent leaves the domain; responsive to said registering, conveying a containment policy to said ghost agent from the ghost registry, wherein the containment policy is dynamically altered when a ghost agent is registered or de-registered with the ghost registry and a update of the containment policy is broadcasted to registered ghost agents; determining a resource utilization value for the ghost agent; comparing the resource utilization value to a limit established by the containment policy; and if said limit is exceeded, preventing the ghost agent from executing at least one operation.