Abstract (may include machine translation)
Reliable communication on the Internet is guaranteed by a standard set of protocols, used by all computers. Here we show that these protocols can be exploited to compute with the communication infrastructure, transforming the Internet into a distributed computer in which servers unwittingly perform computation on behalf of a remote node. In this model, which we call 'parasitic computing', one machine forces target computers to solve a piece of a complex computational problem merely by engaging them in standard communication. Consequently, the target computers are unaware that they have performed computation for the benefit of a commanding node. As experimental evidence of the principle of parasitic computing, we harness the power of several web servers across the globe, which--unknown to them--work together to solve an NP complete problem.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 894-897 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Nature |
Volume | 412 |
Issue number | 6850 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 30 Aug 2001 |
Externally published | Yes |