Mobile Intelligence

6.3 SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION

As computing systems become more complex, dynamic, and heterogeneous, the task of managing such systems has grown to be nearly impossible for humans to handle. The complexity and dynamicity of the environment requires constant monitoring to detect any fluctuation resulting in an unstable/undesirable state. Moreover, the heterogeneity and distribution of computer systems requires that system administrators be able to independently manage the systems in an intelligent fashion. Mobile agents are endowed with the ability to act independently or cooperatively based on the task at hand; moreover, dotted with intelligence, they can make decisions based on predefined parameters and react to changes. The use of such paradigm to administer complex systems presented itself as the ideal approach not only due to the suitability of the paradigm in any distributed environment but also due to the fact that it addresses the core issues in system administration through its intelligence and independence. The following discussion will highlight the contribution of the paradigm particularly pertaining to system administration.

6.3.1 Resource Management

The use of mobile agents has surfaced as a promising approach to handle modern computer network and telecommunication, since it offers the following advantages:

• Distributed collaborative computing,
• Reduced network traffic and bandwidth requirements by decreasing the number of remote interactions,
• Autonomy and continued operation ...