Applying genetic self-architecting for distributed systems

Current trends in information technology emphasize the need of flexible systems that are able to adapt to their changing environment. The aim of this paper is to develop an infrastructure for architecture level self-adaptation, and to study its applicability in the case of distributed systems. The approach is based on dynamically inserted and removed design solutions. The built infrastructure provides UML based architectural reflection and a genetic engine for optimizing the architecture at run-time with respect to efficiency and reliability, according to changes in the environment. The implementation builds on Javeleon, a Java-based platform supporting dynamic updates of classes. The approach is applied to develop a self-adapting system that mimics a shop security control system.