Agent-based management system having an open layered architecture for synchronous and/or asynchronous messaging handling

• US 6,226,666 B1
• Filed: 06/27/1997
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sundaresan, Neelakantan, Chang, Daniel T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): Prieto, Beatriz
• Application Number:
  US08/884,457
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200-205, 709/206-209, 709/210-219, 709/220-229, 709/230-239, 709/315, 370/395, 370/402, 370/455, 370/241, 370/471, 370/392, 379/89, 379/94, 379/100.08, 283/61, 713/201, 705/400, 232/17, 717/1, 712/17
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor

Abstract

A communication infrastructure providing communication between agents, between agents and agent-hosting servers, and between agent-hosting servers. The communication infrastructure consists of three layers (from bottom to top): Mail Facility Layer, Message Facility Layer, and Agent Management Communication Facility Layer. The Mail Facility Layer is the lowest layer providing a general, semantics-free mail paradigm for asynchronous communication between distributed objects, whether they are local or remote to each other. The Mail Facility Layer provides a level of abstraction in terms of mail, virtual mailbox, post office, and mail queue, and hides the details of implementation and actual transport. It is designed to provide location transparency and to be implementable using various transport protocols. The next Message Facility Layer provides a typed messaging paradigm for asynchronous and synchronous message passing between distributed objects. The Message Facility Layer uses the Mail Facility Layer for sending messages and for getting responses to requests sent. It allows for the association of typed message handlers with typed messages such that the format and semantics of messages are encapsulated through their types, are extensible, and can be processed by the associated message handlers. The Agent Management Communication Facility Layer is the highest layer providing the services for inter-agent communication between agents, agent-agent-server communication between an agent and an agent server, and inter-agent-server communication between agent servers for managing agents such as locating an agent, dispatching an agent, retrieving an agent, etc. The key abstractions provided in this layer include agent manager, agent, and agent identifier. It uses the Message

Claims

1. A method of providing a communication infrastructure, for communication between independently executing autonomous agents, each of the agents being managed by an agent-hosting server, between the agents and agent-hosting servers, wherein each of the agent-hosting servers can manage one or more of the agents, and between the agent-hosting servers for a distributed computer system, said method comprising the steps of:

communicating mail asynchronously between distributed objects by use of a mail facility layer, the mail facility layer providing a mail object comprising a mail type, a mail identifier, and a mail correlation identifier, the mail identifier uniquely identifying the mail, and the mail correlation identifier associating the mail with another mail;

communicating a message between the distributed objects by use of a message facility layer providing asynchronous and synchronous communication of messages; and

communicating between agents, between agents and agent-hosting servers, and between agent-hosting servers by use of an agent management facility communication layer which manages the agents by locating, dispatching, and retrieving the agents

wherein;

the agent management communication facility layer uses and depends upon the lower message facility layer and the lower mail facility layer;

the message facility layer uses and depends upon the lower mail facility layer;

the lower message facility layer and the lower mail facility layer may be used independently of the upper agent management communication facility layer; and

the lower mail facility layer may be used independently of the upper message facility layer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein

the mail correlation identifier associates a request message and a response message to the request message by a message handler setting the correlation identifier of the response message to be the message identifier of the request message.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

encapsulating a message format and message semantics through a message type of the message the message type indicating an allowed message passing mode of the message;

associating a message handler with the message type; and

processing the message by the associated message handler.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the agent management communication facility layer provides object oriented abstractions comprising:

an agent;

an agent identifier uniquely identifying the agent; and

an agent manager for managing the agent, the management comprising;

locating the agent;

sending a message to the agent;

dispatching the agent; and

retrieving the agent.

5. An article of manufacture for use in a distributed computer system for providing a communication infrastructure for communication between independently executing autonomous agents, each of the agents being managed by an agent-hosting server, between the agents and agent-hosting servers, wherein each of the agent-hosting servers can manage one or more of the agents, and between the agent-hosting servers, said article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program embodied in said medium which may cause the distributed computer system to:

communicate mail asynchronously between distributed objects by use of a mail facility layer, the mail facility layer providing a mail object comprising a mail type, a mail identifier, and a mail correlation identifier, the mail identifier uniquely identifying the mail, and the mail correlation identifier associating the mail with another mail;

communicate a message between the distributed objects by use of a message facility layer providing asynchronous and synchronous communication of messages; and

communicate between agents, between agents and agent-hosting servers, and between agent-hosting servers by use of an agent management communication facility layer which manages the agents by locating, dispatching, and retrieving the agents

wherein;

the agent management communication facility layer uses and depends upon the lower message facility layer and the lower mail facility layer;

the message facility layer uses and depends upon the lower mail facility layer;

the lower message facility layer and the lower mail facility layer may be used independently of the upper agent management communication facility layer; and

the lower mail facility layer may be used independently of the upper message facility layer.

6. The article of manufacture of claim 5 wherein

the mail correlation identifier associates a request message and a response message to the request message by a message handler setting the correlation identifier of the response message to be the message identifier of the request message.

7. The article of manufacture of claim 5 wherein the computer program may further cause the distributed computer system to:

encapsulate a message format and message semantics through a message type of the message, the message type indicating an allowed message passing mode of the message;

associate a message handler with the message type; and

process the message by the associated message handler.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 5 wherein the agent management communication facility layer provides object oriented abstractions comprising:

an agent;

an agent identifier uniquely identifying the agent; and

an agent manager for managing the agent, the management comprising;

locating the agent;

sending a message to the agent;

dispatching the agent; and

retrieving the agent.

9. A distributed computer system for providing a communication infrastructure for communication between independently executing autonomous agents, each of the agents being managed by an agent-hosting server, between the agents and agent-hosting servers, wherein each of the agent-hosting servers can manage one or more of the agents, and between the agent-hosting servers, said distributed computer system comprising:

a mail facility layer providing asynchronous communication of mail between distributed objects, the mail facility layer providing a mail object comprising a mail type a mail identifier, and a mail correlation identifier the mail identifier uniquely identifying the mail, and the mail correlation identifier associating the mail with another mail;

a message facility layer providing asynchronous and synchronous communication of messages between distributed objects; and

an agent management communication facility layer providing communication between agents, between agents and agent-hosting servers, and between agent-hosting servers which manages the agents by locating, dispatching, and retrieving the agents

wherein;

the agent management communication facility layer uses and depends upon the lower message facility layer and the lower mail facility layer;

the message facility layer uses and depends upon the lower mail facility layer;

the lower message facility layer and the lower mail facility layer may be used independently of the upper agent management communication facility layer; and

the lower mail facility layer may be used independently of the upper message facility layer.

10. The distributed computer system of claim 9 wherein

the mail correlation identifier associates a request message and a response message to the request message by a message handler setting the correlation identifier of the response message to be the message identifier of the request message.

11. The distributed computer system of claim 9 further comprising:

an encapsulation of a message format and message semantics through a message type of the message, the message type indicating an allowed message passing mode of the message;

an association of a message handler with the message type; and

a processing of the message by the associated message handler.

12. The distributed computer system of claim 9 wherein the agent management communication facility layer provides object oriented abstractions comprising:

an agent;

an agent identifier uniquely identifying the agent; and

an agent manager for managing the agent, the management comprising;

locating the agent;

sending a message to the agent;

dispatching the agent; and

retrieving the agent.