Dynamic Pricing for Sensor-Cloud Platform in the Presence of Dumb Nodes

Abstract

The presence of dumb nodes in sensor-cloud environment leads to degraded system performance. In this article, we consider the presence of dumb nodes in the sensor-cloud platform, and thereafter, propose a dynamic pricing scheme, while considering the existence of such nodes in the networks. The existing literature addresses the problem of pricing in sensor-cloud with the assumption of an ideal environment with normally functioning sensor nodes. The proposed pricing model considers the realistic existence of dumb nodes in sensor-cloud platforms. Further, the dumb behavior of a sensor node is dynamic in nature, as it is dependent on environmental conditions such as the occurrence of heavy rainfall, high temperature, and the presence of fog. However, in the absence of such adverse environmental conditions, the erstwhile dumb nodes resume normal behavior. The permanent removal of a dumb node from sensor-cloud is not always a feasible solution. When a dumb node is assigned to a virtual sensor, the existing pricing scheme in sensor-cloud charges same as other normal nodes. Thus, in such a situation, a user pays the normal price for a dumb node to the Sensor-Cloud Service Provider (SCSP). Consequently, the sensor owner of dumb node earn same profit as the owner of a normal node. Therefore, we formulate a scheme for <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Dynamic pricing in sensor-cloud environment in the presence of dumb nodes</i> ( <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">DISCLOUD</i> ). As the presence of dumb nodes in sensor-cloud affects the Quality of Service (QoS), we propose a scheme considering QoS of the sensor-cloud. The proposed scheme, DISCLOUD, enables profit maximization of the SCSP, while considering the price required to be paid by end-user based on QoS.