CONE-DHT: A distributed self-stabilizing algorithm for a heterogeneous storage system

We consider the problem of managing a dynamic heterogeneous storagesystem in a distributed way so that the amount of data assigned to a hostin that system is related to its capacity. Two central problems have to be solvedfor this: (1) organizing the hosts in an overlay network with low degree and diameterso that one can efficiently check the correct distribution of the data androute between any two hosts, and (2) distributing the data among the hosts so thatthe distribution respects the capacities of the hosts and can easily be adapted asthe set of hosts or their capacities change. We present distributed protocols forthese problems that are self-stabilizing and that do not need any global knowledgeabout the system such as the number of nodes or the overall capacity of thesystem. Prior to this work no solution was known satisfying these properties.