Code distribution and data fusion in networks: A case study using overlays

Instead of executing a program at a centralized server system, is it possible to slice a program and run different slices dynamically across the Internet? This is exactly what this paper will examine and present. Concept of programmable nodes was introduced years ago. Commercially, active network concept was not feasible to operate in routers. But with the arrival of overlays, extension of programmable nodes to geographically distributed server farms may become a reality. Network service providers, application program providers, and end users constitute a novel business model. In the paper, a selected program is sliced, partitioned, and dispersed across different network servers for computations. An NP-complete problem (integer knapsack algorithm) is sliced into multiple small modules to execute in a networked prototype for validation. It has been demonstrated that small computational modules on servers allow speedy computations and fast convergence of data at receivers.