An Auction-Based Approach for Composite Web Service Selection

Web service composition (WSC) offers a range of solutions for rapid creation of complex applications by facilitating the composition of already existing concrete web services. One critical challenge in WSC is the dynamic selection of concrete services to be bound to the abstract composite service. In our research, we identify and elaborate on the challenges involved on developing a market-based mechanism for composite service selection. We propose a combinatorial procurement auction model as a useful approach to research service selection, in order to overcome the limitations of the current optimization-based and negotiation-based solutions. The proposed auction model supports dynamic pricing for the offered web services, enables the providers to express their preferences more fully, and creates the incentive for the providers to be truthful about the offered prices.