Autonomic personal computing

Abstract

Autonomic personal computing is personal computing on autonomic computing platforms. Its goals combine those of personal computing with those of autonomic computing. The challenge of personal autonomic computing is to simplify and enhance the end-user experience, delighting the user by anticipating his or her needs in the face of a complex, dynamic, and uncertain environment. In this paper we identify the key technologies that enable autonomic behavior as distinguished from fault-tolerant behavior. We give some examples of current autonomic behavior and some general considerations for an architecture that supports autonomic personal computing. We identify its challenges to standards and technology developers and conclude with some guidance for future work.Autonomic personal computing is defined here as personal computing on autonomic computing systems. It shares the goals of personal computingresponsiveness, ease of use, and flexibility-with those of autonomic computing-simplicity of use, availability, and security. In most cases these goals are complementary. For example, autonomic computing enhances ease of use because it eliminates or simplifies some user responsibilities. But personal computing implies flexibility of location and of the hardware and software configuration, and this complicates the job of achieving autonomic behavior. It is easier to configure, heal, optimize, and protect a system in an environment that does not change. If we can achieve autonomic behavior while still meeting the unique needs of personal computing, millions of users will benefit worldwide.The intention of this paper, then, is to identify the unique demands and opportunities of autonomic computing with personal devices. Our ground rules are that we seek to achieve autonomic behavior of a personal computing system-personal computers (PCs) and their peers, networks, and servers-not just the PC alone. We also limit our focus to application platforms, not to applications themselves. This distinction is somewhat equivocal and quantitative, however, because yesterday's applications are often tomorrow's platforms.In what follows, we first look deeper into the meaning of the autonomic attributes of personal computing, which are different from fault-tolerant attributes. We then categorize technologies as they relate to achieving autonomic behavior in different variations: within the PC, in PC communities, and in more general systems that include servers. We give some examples of the state of the art and identify missing or incomplete capabilities. We describe some general considerations for an architecture that supports autonomic personal computing, identify some issues, and suggest a direction for future research and development.

Efficient Broadcasting in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks Using Context Aware Adaptive Routing Protocol during Network Partitions

“…The delivery process depends on whether or not the recipient is present in the same connected region of the network (cloud) as the sender. If all nodes are currently in the same connected portion of the network, the message is broadcasted using an underlying synchronous routing protocol to determine a forwarding path (Bantz et al, 2003). If a message cannot be broadcasted synchronously, the best carriers for a message are those that have the highest chance of successful delivery, i.e., the highest delivery probabilities.…”

PAC-MEN: personal autonomic computing monitoring environment

“…Personal Autonomic Computing is Autonomic Computing [1] in a personal computing environment [2]. Personal computing has evolved substantially in the last few years.…”

“…Examples of current difficult experiences that can be overcome by such an approach include [2]: (i) trouble connecting to a wired or a wireless network at a conference, hotel or other work location; (ii) switching between home and work; (iii) losing a working connection (and shouting across the office to see if anyone else has had the same problem! ); (iv) going into the IP settings area in Windows and being unsure about the correct values to use; (v) having a PC which stops booting and needs major repair or re-installation of the operating system; (vi) recovering from a hard-disk crash; and (vii) migrating efficiently to a new PC.…”

“…In particular [2], personal computing users are often, of necessity, system administrators for the equipment they use. Most are amateurs without formal training, who perform system operations infrequently.…”

“…In particular, it will use the notion of a consultation between each personal system and a network of dynamically discovered peers to resolve difficulties experienced [2][3], addressing such questions as how to connect to a new network or locate local resources. This peer model may be extended to include shared monitoring of the external environment to inform group members of events that may require individual action.…”