Performance Analysis of Mobile Agents for Filtering Data Streams on Wireless Networks

David Kotz, Dartmouth College
George Cybenko, Dartmouth College
Robert S. Gray, Dartmouth College
Guofei Jiang, Dartmouth College
Martin O. Hoffman, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories
Daria A. Chacon, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories
Kennith R. Whitebread, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories
James Hendler, DARPA ISO

Dartmouth Technical Report TR2000-377

Abstract

Wireless networks are an ideal environment for mobile agents, because their mobility allows them to move across an unreliable link to reside on a wired host, next to or closer to the resources they need to use. Furthermore, client-specific data transformations can be moved across the wireless link, and run on a wired gateway server, with the goal of reducing bandwidth demands. In this paper we examine the tradeoffs faced when deciding whether to use mobile agents to support a data-filtering application, in which numerous wireless clients filter information from a large data stream arriving across the wired network. We develop an analytical model and use parameters from our own experiments to explore the model's implications.