Mobile Agents for Information Life-Cycle Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Information Life-cycle Management (ILM) techniques are inefficient in managing data storage and movement across different levels of a storage system, as they lack effective mechanisms for discovering management elements, updating storage policies, and moving storage objects.
Innovation Solution
The use of mobile agents, embodied in executable code, to perform operations within the ILM system, including discovery, policy updates, and storage object movement, by traversing the system and interacting with management elements to optimize data storage and retrieval processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional ILM techniques are used to manage data storage and movement, then basic storage and transfer functions are provided, but the system lacks effective mechanisms for discovering management elements, updating storage policies, and moving storage objects efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
Mobile agents autonomously traverse the storage system to discover management elements, evaluate storage policies, and execute data movement operations without requiring manual intervention or complex centralized control mechanisms. The agents self-manage the ILM operations by independently navigating the system hierarchy and interacting with storage devices.
Solution Approach 2:
Mobile agents serve as intermediary components between the ILM system and storage devices. These agents carry policy information through the system, mediate communication between management elements, and facilitate data movement by acting as mobile carriers of control logic rather than requiring fixed infrastructure.
2Productivity
If mobile agents are used to perform ILM operations, then operational efficiency is improved, but the system requires executable code to be embodied and moved through the information life-cycle management system
Solution Approach 1:
The ILM control logic is replicated as mobile agent instances that can be deployed independently across the storage system. Each agent carries a copy of the necessary policy information and execution logic, allowing parallel operations without requiring modification of the original system infrastructure or complex deployment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static, fixed infrastructure to dynamic, mobile agent-based control. The agents can move through the information life-cycle management system hierarchy, adapt their behavior based on discovered management elements, and dynamically execute operations without requiring predetermined system configuration or complex deployment procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
Facilitating performance of an operation in an information life-cycle management system comprising management elements organized levels includes generating a mobile agent operable to perform the operation. The mobile agent is embodied in executable code and is operable to move through at least a portion of the information life-cycle management system. The operation is performed using the mobile agent.