SCOPE AND DISTRIBUTION OF KNOWLEDGE IN AN AUTONOMIC COMPUTING SYSTEM

• US 20090150334A1
• Filed: 12/03/2008
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ogle, David M., Sweitzer, John W., Miller, Brent A., Labadie, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 9,230,209 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

An autonomic computing system may include an autonomic manager and a knowledge source accessible by the autonomic manager and any other entities associated with the autonomic computing system. The knowledge source may include a service interface adapted for the autonomic manager to access the knowledge source. The knowledge source may also include a multiplicity of knowledge elements.

Claims

1. An autonomic computing system, comprising:

an autonomic manager; and

a knowledge source accessible by the autonomic manager and any other entities associated with the autonomic computing system, wherein the knowledge source comprises;

a service interface adapted for the autonomic manager to access the knowledge source, wherein knowledge is loadable from the knowledge source to the autonomic manager via the service interface, wherein the loadable knowledge comprises symptom knowledge related to conditions, events and other occurrences within the autonomic computing system influencing how the autonomic manager is to respond in performing a monitor, analyze, plan and execute (MAPE) autonomic computing loop; and

a multiplicity of knowledge elements.

2. The autonomic computing system of claim 1, wherein the service interface allows the autonomic manager to perform a group of functions comprising at least one of:

load specific knowledge from the knowledge source;

load specific knowledge to the knowledge source;

subscribe to receive particular knowledge publishable by the knowledge source;

unsubscribe from receiving particular knowledge publishable by the knowledge source; and

receive selected knowledge loaded from the knowledge source as instructed by a manager of the autonomic manager.

3. The autonomic computing system of claim 1, further comprising a managing entity to manage the autonomic manager, and wherein the knowledge source further comprises a manageability interface for the managing entity to access the knowledge source.

4. The autonomic computing system of claim 3, wherein the manageability interface is adapted to allow the managing entity to perform a group of functions relative to the knowledge source comprising at least one of:

query the knowledge source to determine types of knowledge;

query the knowledge source to determine types of knowledge elements by expression;

add another knowledge element;

delete one of the knowledge elements;

update one of the knowledge elements;

manage a content of each of the knowledge elements;

configure the knowledge source;

authorize the knowledge source to perform selected operations.

5. The autonomic computing system of claim 3, further comprising a manager interface adapted to allow the managing entity to perform a group of functions relative to the autonomic manager comprising at least one of:

query the autonomic manager to determine the autonomic manager'"'"'s know how capabilities, including types of knowledge that can be processed, scope within which knowledge is applicable, and any particular form in which the knowledge is extendable;

instruct the autonomic manager to load particular knowledge from the knowledge source;

instruct the autonomic manager to unload specific knowledge;

instruct the autonomic manager to activate particular knowledge; and

instruct the autonomic manager to inactivate specific knowledge.

6. The autonomic computing system of claim 1, wherein the knowledge source further comprises a population interface, wherein the population interface is adapted to allow a group comprising at least one of:

query the knowledge source;

add knowledge elements to the knowledge source;

delete knowledge elements; and

update knowledge elements.

7. The autonomic computing system of claim 1, wherein each knowledge element comprises:

a description; and

a definition.

8. The autonomic computing system of claim 1, wherein each knowledge element comprises:

a plurality of descriptions, wherein each description corresponds to a different form utilizable by different autonomic managers; and

a plurality of definitions, wherein each definition corresponds to a different form utilizable by the different autonomic managers.

9. The autonomic computing system of claim 1, wherein the multiplicity of knowledge elements comprises different types of knowledge elements from a set comprising:

a symptom type knowledge element;

a change type request knowledge element;

a configuration/topology knowledge element;

a plan type knowledge element; and

a policy type knowledge element.

10. A knowledge source, comprising:

a multiplicity of knowledge elements; and

at least one interface to access the knowledge source by at least one of an autonomic manager, a managing entity of the autonomic manager, and an external source for tooling and knowledge creation relative to the knowledge source, wherein knowledge is loadable from the knowledge source to the autonomic manager via the at least one interface, wherein the loadable knowledge comprises symptom knowledge related to conditions, events and other occurrences within an autonomic computing system influencing how the autonomic manager is to respond in performing a monitor, analyze, plan and execute (MAPE) autonomic computing loop.

11. The knowledge source of claim 10, wherein the at least one interface comprises:

a service interface adapted for the autonomic manager to access the knowledge source;

a manageability interface for a manager of the autonomic manager to access the knowledge source; and

a population interface for the tooling and knowledge creation.

12. The knowledge source of claim 10, wherein each knowledge element comprises:

a knowledge description of each form expected to be utilized by different types of autonomic managers in an autonomic computing system; and

a knowledge definition of each form expected to be utilized by the different types of autonomic managers.

13. A method to manage knowledge in an autonomic computing system, comprising:

allowing knowledge to be loaded from a knowledge source to an autonomic manager, wherein allowing knowledge to be loaded from the knowledge source to the autonomic manager comprises;

loading symptom knowledge related to conditions, events and other occurrences within an autonomic computing system influencing how the autonomic manager is to respond in performing a monitor, analyze, plan and execute (MAPE) autonomic computing loop;

allowing knowledge to be loaded on the knowledge source;

allowing management of knowledge loaded on the knowledge source; and

allowing the knowledge source to be queried to determine types of knowledge loaded on the knowledge source.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing a plurality of knowledge elements loaded on the knowledge source, wherein providing each knowledge element comprises:

providing a knowledge description of each form expected to be utilized by different types of autonomic managers in the autonomic computing system; and

providing a knowledge definition of each form expected to be utilized by the different types of autonomic managers.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

allowing addition of another knowledge element;

allowing deletion of a selected knowledge element; and

allowing management of a content of each knowledge element.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising allowing the autonomic manager to be queried to determine the autonomic manager'"'"'s know how capabilities, including types of knowledge that the autonomic manager can process, a scope within which the knowledge is applicable, and any particular form in which the knowledge is extendable.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising at least one of:

allowing a manager of the autonomic manager to instruct the knowledge source to load selected knowledge on the autonomic manager; and

allowing the autonomic manager to subscribe and unsubscribe to particular knowledge publishable by the knowledge source.

18. A computer program product to manage knowledge in an autonomic computing system, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therein, the computer usable medium comprising;

computer usable program code configured to at least one of;

allow specific knowledge to be loaded from a knowledge source to an autonomic manager wherein to allow specific knowledge to be loaded from the knowledge source to the autonomic manager comprises allowing symptom knowledge to be loaded that relates to conditions, events and other occurrences within an autonomic computing system influencing how the autonomic manager is to respond in performing a monitor, analyze, plan and execute (MAPE) autonomic computing loop;

allow specific knowledge to be loaded to the knowledge source;

allow the autonomic manager to subscribe to particular knowledge publishable by the knowledge source;

allow the autonomic manager to unsubscribe from receiving particular knowledge publishable by the knowledge source; and

allow selected knowledge to be loaded from the knowledge source to the autonomic manager as instructed by a manager of the autonomic manager.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, further comprising computer usable program code configured to at least one of:

allow the knowledge source to be queried to determine types of knowledge;

allow the knowledge source to be queried to determine types of knowledge elements by expression loaded on the knowledge source;

allow another knowledge element to be added to the knowledge source;

allow one of the knowledge elements to be deleted from the knowledge source;

allow the knowledge elements to be updated;

allow management of a content of each of the knowledge elements;

allow the knowledge source to be configured;

allow the knowledge source to be authorized to perform selected operations.

20. The computer program product of claim 18, further comprising computer usable program code configured to at least one of:

allow the autonomic manager to be queried to determine the autonomic manager'"'"'s know how capabilities, including types of knowledge that can be processed, scope within which knowledge is applicable, and any particular form in which the knowledge is extendable;

allow the autonomic manager to be instructed to load particular knowledge from the knowledge source;

allow the autonomic manager to be instructed to unload specific knowledge;

allow the autonomic manager to be instructed to activate particular knowledge; and

allow the autonomic manager to be instructed to inactivate specific knowledge.