Enabling dynamic composition and coordination for autonomic Grid applications using the Rudder Agent framework

This paper introduces Rudder, a peer-to-peer agent framework for supporting autonomic applications in decentralized distributed environments. The framework provides agents to discover, select, and compose elements, and defines agent interaction and negotiation protocols to enable appropriate application behaviors to be dynamically negotiated and enacted. The implementations of these protocols as well as agent coordination and negotiation activities are supported by Comet, a scalable decentralized coordination substrate. The operation and experimental evaluation of Rudder is presented.