Dead-zone logic in autonomic systems

Abstract

Dead-Zone logic is a mechanism to prevent autonomic managers from unnecessary, inefficient and ineffective control brevity when the system is sufficiently close to its target state. It provides a natural and powerful framework for achieving dependable self-management in autonomic systems by enabling autonomic managers to smartly carry out a change (or adapt) only when it is safe and efficient to do so-within a particular (defined) safety margin. This paper explores and evaluates the performance impact of dead-zone logic in trustworthy autonomic computing. Using two case example scenarios, we present empirical analyses that demonstrate the effectiveness of dead-zone logic in achieving stability, dependability and trustworthiness in adaptive systems. Dynamic temperature target tracking and autonomic datacentre resource request and allocation management scenarios are used. Results show that dead-zone logic can significantly enhance the trustability of autonomic systems.