PeerMart: the technology for a distributed auction-based market for peer-to-peer services

P2P networks are becoming increasingly popular for a wide variety of applications going beyond pure file sharing. However, a commercial use of P2P technology is currently not possible as efficient and reliable market mechanisms are missing. This paper presents PeerMart, a distributed technology in support of a market for trading P2P services. PeerMart combines the economic efficiency of double auctions with the technical efficiency and resilience of structured P2P networks. The system is implemented on top of a redundant P2P infrastructure and is being evaluated with respect to scalability, efficiency, and reliability.