While You're Away (WYA) is a distributed system that aggregates the computational power of individual computer systems. WYA introduces the notion of Roaming Computations - Java-based programs that move around the network utilizing the resources of idle workstations. WYA provides architectural independence and addresses issues of convenience, security, and incentive for owners of workstations. WYA is based on the NOMADS mobile agent system, which uses the Aroma Virtual Machine (VM) to provide strong mobiliy, resource control, and resource accounting. WYA currently runs on Win32 and UNIX workstations but is being extended to work on other computational devices such as television set-top boxes, video game consoles, and Internet appliances.
Niranjan Suri, Paul T. Groth, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw