An Autonomic Computing System based on a Rule-based Policy Engine and Artificial Immune Systems

Autonomic computing systems arose from the notion that complex computing systems should have properties like those of the autonomic nervous system, which coordinates bodily functions and allows attention to be directed to more pressing needs. An autonomic system allows the system administrator to specify high-level policies, which the system maintains without administrator assistance. Policy enforcement can be done with a rule based system such as Jess (a java expert system shell). An autonomic system must be able to monitor itself, and this is often a limiting factor. We are developing an automatic system that has a policy engine and uses Artificial Immune Systems (AISs) to sense its environment and to monitor its components and performance. AISs emulate the natural immune system to defend the body against external malicious entities. The proposed system monitors itself without human intervention and thus addresses the problem of systems complexity.