Abstract Autonomic Computing Towards a Self-Healing System.pdf

63 Autonomic Computing: Towards a Self-Healing System Sharee S. Laster, B.S., Ayodeji O. Olatunji, B.S., ssl15@, dolatunji82@ Department of Computer Engineering, Jackson State University Abstract The increasing complexity of computer systems results in systems which are prone to errors and disruptions creating major problems for the user. In order to reduce the total cost of ownership and to cope with the rapidly growing complexity of integrating and managing today’s computer-based systems, autonomic computing was introduced by IBM in 2001. Autonomic computing is a computer environment that can detect and adjust its system automatically to manage itself without the assistance of any human interaction. This paper introduces autonomic computing, a methodology that focuses on the management of system complexity through the use of methods providing for self- learning and self-healing operating systems. Introduction For decades, the advancement of technology and science has mirrored the increase of complexity in many computer environments. Recently, the advancement of computer technology and science has not been increasing at the same pace as complexity in computer environments. This unbalance in advancement creates a major obstacle. The major obstacle that concerns researchers is centered on complexity. However, as the scale and complexity of these systems and applications grow, their development, configuration and management challenges are beginning to break current paradigms, overwhelm the capabilities of existing tools and methodologies, and rapidly render the system and applications, brittle, unmanageable, and insecure [22]. As complexity increases, computer environments are being impacted with more failures and downtown. Most frequently cited outages included [18]: ? For systems: operational error, user error, third-party software error, internally developed software problem, inadequate change control, lack of aut