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System and method for providing highly-reliable coordination of intelligent agents in a distributed computing system

  • US 6,212,649 B1
  • Filed: 12/30/1997
  • Issued: 04/03/2001
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1996
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. In a distributed computing system including at least one host computer system, a highly-reliable system for performing tasks, comprising:

  • a plurality of agents, each agent in the plurality of agents having a host system and being capable of pursuing a goal autonomous from the host system associated with the agent, the goal being a solution to a problem defined by one agent in the plurality of agents or the host system associated with the one agent, wherein a first agent in the plurality of agents is associated with at least one system, including a first host system, and is operative for communicating with component in the distributed computing system to receive instructions, information, and requests from the component, the first agent being further operative to receive the goal from the component, the first agent being capable of interacting with a second agent in the plurality of agents using inter-agent conversation facilities in furtherance of the goal through the transmission of a message from the first agent to the second agent, the first agent being still further operative for planning a session with other agents in the plurality of agents for pursuing the goal; and

    a fault tolerance object resident at the second agent and operative for identifying a fault in the interaction by testing information received from the first agent during the interaction to determine whether the information is inconsistent with information stored in the second agent that describes an expected behavior of the first agent or the systems associated with the first agent, the fault tolerance object further operative to initiate a fault tolerance procedure operative to identify a cause of the fault and, when necessary, to request the first agent to re-express and re-transmit the message from the first agent to the second agent.

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