Service and Network Management Middleware for Cooperative Information Systems through Policies and Mobile Agents

Abstract

As cooperative information systems (CIS) grow to cover large-scaled CIS that involves many cooperative sub-systems distributed geographically, management technologies that support them gain in importance. This paper focuses on the underlying technologies that are key to the success of cooperative information system, i.e., service management and network management, which are in the form of middleware, to assure inter-domain cooperation within a big CIS in a flexible, automated and secure way. This flexibility and automation is guaranteed by the use of Policy-based Network Management integrated with Mobile Agent Technology. Extending the mobile agent supporting environment, Grasshopper, to support more secure facilities, largely enhances the security. As a case study, IP Virtual Private Network tunnel between two geographically separated domains within a large-scaled CIS is set up and configured automatically and securely using the service and network management middleware, which shows that service and network management enhanced CIS can operate with more flexibility, automation, security and in a larger information system.