Patent ID: 7881316

Claim:
In a computing environment including a plurality of agents networked together, a method of performing computing, communication, and/or storage tasks, the method comprising: sending a search request for matches of a first type on a first peer group, wherein a peer group as used herein is an application level construct that employs communication techniques beyond physical multicasting, the first peer group including members from among the agents, the search request comprising a search for data, the search request further comprising an indication that matches of the request should be returned using a peer group separate from the first peer group, the request specifically designating a second peer group by identifying specifically the second peer group, wherein sending a search request is an operation specific to the first peer group; receiving matches of the request, the matches being of the first type, on the second peer group specifically identified by the request, the second peer group including members from among the agents, wherein at least some of the agents in the second peer group are different from agents in the first peer group, wherein receiving matches of the request is an operation specific to the second peer group and wherein the second peer group is designated for specifically receiving matches of the first type and wherein matches of a different type than the first type are received on different peer groups as a result of the different peer groups being specifically identified in the request as being designated for matches of different types than the first type, including receiving through different agents, than the first and second peer groups; and coordinating the sending an receiving operations at each of the peer groups such that a common computing, communication and/or storage task is accomplished by aggregating the operations at each of the peer groups.