Supporting Disconnected Computing in Mobile Agent Systems

Authors

Abstract

Mobile agents are typically referred as a very adequate paradigm for using in mobile and disconnected computing environments. They are autonomous, have a strong sense of location and are able to operate independently of a central server. Nevertheless, although this is true, for developing a mobile agent system that is capable of operating in a disconnected computing environment, much more is needed: persistence stores where the agents can be safely stored; agent reactivation mechanisms, which allow agents to migrate when a network connection is detected; policies and notification mechanisms for dealing with changing locations; among other things. In this paper, we present the mechanisms developed for the M&M mobile agent framework in order to address mobile and disconnected computing environments. These mechanisms can be readily adapted to any other platform that needs to deal with disconnected computing.

Subject

Mobile Agents