A Middleware Framework for Secure Mobile Grid Services
(K. W. Ng)

A grid denotes middleware infrastructure, tools, and applications concerned with integrating geographically distributed resources to provide services to support the execution of large-scale, resource-intensive, and distributed applications. The services provided by nodes in a grid are called grid services. Current grid technologies only enable stationary grid services provided by fixed service providers. However, if the grid services can become mobile and be able to be securely executed on other service providers, grids can maximize their resource usages by moving the mobile grid services to suitable service providers. The challenges include enabling grid services to become mobile; enabling grid services to be run on heterogeneous environments; and ensuring security of the grid services. Mobile agent technology is to be deployed to solve the above problems.

This research aims to provide solutions to the security, mobility and heterogeneity issues of grid services. The solutions consist of a mobile grid service middleware framework and security mechanisms to support secure and mobile services. The mobile grid service middleware framework enables grid services to be able to migrate to heterogeneous grid environment. The security mechanisms include protocols for detecting tampering against mobile grid services, and protocols to detect malicious grid nodes.