Patent ID: 6963897

Claim:
A method of operating a distributed processing system having a network for coupling a multiplicity of Host distributed devices to process workloads for the distributed processing system, a plurality of Client systems requesting processing of the workloads, and a Server system for selectively distributing the workloads from the plurality of Client systems for processing by the distributed processing system comprising the steps of: generating an offer to provide processing services as an incentive for a Host distributed device to couple to the network as one of the multiplicity of Host distributed devices, wherein the processing services are available only by a processing capability provided by the distributed processing system; providing a first processing service selected from the processing services in response to the first Host distributed device coupling to the network to process workloads for the distributed processing system; and updating capabilities of the processing services in response to the first Host distributed device coupling to the network to process workloads for the distributed processing system, wherein the Server system makes an offer to sell application software to the first Host distributed device in response to the first Host distributed device having an assigned priority for sending Host workloads for processing on the distributed processing system, the application software executes by processing workloads exclusively on the distributed processing system and the first Host distributed device is assigned a priority for sending Host workloads for processing on the distributed processing system as an incentive for coupling to the network to process workloads for the distributed processing system, and wherein the application software launches enhanced functions in place of normal functions executed by the first Host distributed device.