On demand platform for online games

Abstract

A shared infrastructure, based on emerging on demand computing models, that supports multiple games offers an attractive option for large-scale multiplayer online game providers who want to avoid the risk of investing in dedicated resources. In this paper, we describe a prototype implementation of a service platform for online games. The platform design follows the on demand computing paradigm. It offers integration using open standards and off-the-shelf software and embraces virtualization and simplification to enable sharing resources across games. We describe our experience with identifying appropriate performance metrics for provisioning game servers and with implementing reusable platform components that provide useful functionality for a variety of games. © Copyright 2006 by International Business Machines Corporation.