| Present computer systems are very brittle. They fail at the slightest problem. If a period, a comma, or a bracket is not correct, the software will fail. We still have much to do in designing forgiving systems. Autonomous computing systems will have the ability to discover and repair potential problems to ensure that the systems run smoothly. With today's complex IT architectures, it can be hours before a problem is identified at the root cause level. System staff members need to pore over listings of error logs and memory dumps, tracing step-by-step back to the point of failure. The cost of downtime to the business is prohibitive. For example, in large-scale banking networks, the cost can be as much as $2,600,000 per hour. Self-healing systems will be able to take immediate action to resolve the issue, even if further analysis is required. Rules for self-healing will need to be defined and applied. As autonomous systems become more sophisticated, embedded intelligence will be applied to discover new rules and objectives. For example, IBM will be building SMART (Self-Managing and Resource Tuning) databases into upcoming versions of their DB2 database product. This database is designed to run with less need for human intervention. For example, the user can opt not to be involved, and the database will automatically detect failures when they occur (and correct them) and configure itself by installing operating systems and data automatically to cope with the changing demands of e-business and the Internet. Examples: -
Self-correcting Job Control Language (JCL): when a job fails, the errors or problems are identified and jobs rerun without human intervention. -
An application error forces the entire system to halt. After root cause analysis, the error is corrected, recompiled, tested, and moved back into production. -
A database index fails. The files are automatically re-indexed, tested, and loaded back into production. -
Automatically extend file space and database storage, according to previous data on growth and expansion. |