CISS: An Efficient Object Clustering Framework for DHT-Based Peer-to-Peer Applications

In most DHT-based peer-to-peer systems, objects are totally declustered since such systems use a hash function to distribute objects evenly. However, such an object de-clustering can result in significant inefficiencies in advanced access operations such as multi-dimensional range queries, continuous updates, etc, which are common in many emerging peer-to-peer applications. In this paper, we propose CISS (Cooperative Information Sharing System), a framework that supports efficient object clustering for DHT-based peer-to-peer applications. CISS uses a Locality Preserving Function (LPF) instead of a hash function, thereby achieving a high level of clustering without requiring any changes to existing DHT implementations. To maximize the benefit of object clustering, CISS provides efficient routing protocols for multi-dimensional range queries and continuous updates. Furthermore, our cluster-preserving load balancing schemes distribute loads without hotspots while preserving the object clustering property. We demonstrate the performance benefits of CISS through extensive simulation. 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.