Service allocation for composite Web services based on quality attributes

Web services are software artifacts that can be accessed over the Internet. They can be seen as pay-per-view functionalities that are exposed by some service providers. If there are multiple providers for a Web service, then both the quality and price of the service become key factors when determining which provider to choose. We consider the problem of service allocation for multiple correlated Web services that can be serviced by potentially different Web service providers. We model this problem in a game-theoretic setting and design a reverse auction where optimal service allocation for the service requester is guaranteed. We also present an optimal strategy for the service provider when choosing its quality of service.