Multi-Agent Coordination of Distributed Event Data Processing

In this paper, we present a multi-agent systems approach to distributed event data processing as it is e.g. pervasive in scientific computing environments. The matching of capability descriptions in these domains, which requires the description of constraints over streams of events, is computationally very hard. We discuss a coordination approach based on the contract net protocol in combination with shallow descriptions of agent capabilities, requiring agents to be able to deal with exceptions that arise when constraints between interfaces that were not enforced by the capability descriptions are violated. In this case, agents decommit from their contracts and are required to reiterate coordination. We motivate event-data processing as an interesting application area for multiagent systems, propose a coordination approach, and finally formulate the question of how to structure a principled approach to agent design in this domain.