Configurations of web services

The quest for sound foundations for the orchestration of web services is still open. To a great extent its relevance comes from the possibility of defining formal semantics for new language standards (like BPEL4WS or WS-CDL) in this emerging and challenging technology. As a step in that direction, this paper resorts to a notion of configuration, developed by the authors in the context of a Reo-like exogenous coordination model for software components, to formally express service orchestration. The latter is regarded as involving both the architectural assembly of independent services and the description of their interactions.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PURe Project, contract POSI/ICHS/44304/2002

Petri Net Plans A framework for collaboration and coordination in multi-robot systems

Programming the behavior of multi-robot systems is a challenging task which has a key role in developing effective systems in many application domains. In this paper, we present Petri Net Plans (PNPs), a language based on Petri Nets (PNs), which allows for intuitive and effective robot and multi-robot behavior design. PNPs are very expressive and support a rich set of features that are critical to develop robotic applications, including sensing, interrupts and concurrency. As a central feature, PNPs allow for a formal analysis of plans based on standard PN tools. Moreover, PNPs are suitable for modeling multi-robot systems and the developed behaviors can be executed in a distributed setting, while preserving the properties of the modeled system. PNPs have been deployed in several robotic platforms in different application domains. In this paper, we report three case studies, which address complex single robot plans, coordination and collaboration

Reconfigurable and software-defined networks of connectors and components

The diffusion of adaptive systems motivate the study of models of software entities whose interaction capabilities can evolve dynamically. In this paper we overview the contributions in the ASCENS project in the area of software defined networks and of reconfigurable connectors. In particular we highlight: (i) the definition of the Network-conscious pi-calculus and its use in the modeling and verification of the PASTRY protocol, and (ii) the mutual correspondence between different frameworks for defining networks of connectors together with two suitable enhancements for addressing dynamically changing systems

A perspective on service orchestration

Service-oriented computing is an emerging paradigm with increasing impact on the way modern software systems are designed and developed. Services are autonomous, loosely coupled and heterogeneous computational entities able to cooperate to achieve common goals. This paper introduces a model for service orchestration, which combines a exogenous coordination model, with services’ interfaces annotated with behavioural patterns specified in a process algebra which is parametric on the interaction discipline. The coordination model is a variant of Reo for which a new semantic model is proposed

Reconfigurable component connectors

This thesis provides formal methods for reconfigurable component connectors.UBL - phd migration 201

Stochastic models for quality of service of component connectors

The intensifying need for scalable software has motivated modular development and using systems distributed over networks to implement large-scale applications. In Service-oriented Computing, distributed services are composed to provide large-scale services with a specific functionality. In this way, reusability of existing services can be increased. However, due to the heterogeneity of distributed software systems, software composition is not easy and requires additional mechanisms to impose some form of a coordination on a distributed software system. Besides functional correctness, a composed service must satisfy various quantitative requirements for its clients, which are generically called its quality of service (QoS). Particularly, it is tricky to obtain the overall QoS of a composed service even if the QoS information of its constituent distributed services is given. In this thesis, we propose Stochastic Reo to specify software composition with QoS aspects and its compositional semantic models. They are also used as intermediate models to generate their corresponding stochastic models for practical analysis. Based on this, we have implemented the tool Reo2MC. Using Reo2MC, we have modeled and analyzed an industrial software, the ASK system. Its analysis results provided the best cost-effective resource utilization and some suggestions to improve the performance of the system.UBL - phd migration 201

A novel approach to emergency management of wireless telecommunication system

The survivability concerns the service continuity when the components of a system are damaged. This concept is especially useful in the emergency management of the system, as often emergencies involve accidents or incident disasters which more or less damage the system. The overall objective of this thesis study is to develop a quantitative management approach to the emergency management of a wireless cellular telecommunication system in light of its service continuity in emergency situations – namely the survivability of the system. A particular wireless cellular telecommunication system, WCDMA, is taken as an example to ground this research.The thesis proposes an ontology-based paradigm for service management such that the management system contains three models: (1) the work domain model, (2) the dynamic model, and (3) the reconfiguration model. A powerful work domain modeling tool called Function-Behavior-Structure (FBS) is employed for developing the work domain model of the WCDMA system. Petri-Net theory, as well as its formalization, is applied to develop the dynamic model of the WCDMA system. A concept in engineering design called the general and specific function concept is applied to develop a new approach to system reconfiguration for the high survivability of the system. These models are implemented along with a user-interface which can be used by emergency management personnel. A demonstration of the effectiveness of this study approach is included.There are a couple of contributions with this thesis study. First, the proposed approach can be added to contemporary telecommunication management systems. Second, the Petri Net model of the WCDMA system is more comprehensive than any dynamic model of the telecommunication systems in literature. Furthermore, this model can be extended to any other telecommunication system. Third, the proposed system reconfiguration approach, based on the general and specific function concept, offers a unique way for the survivability of any service provider system.In conclusion, the ontology-based paradigm for a service system management provides a total solution to service continuity as well as its emergency management. This paradigm makes the complex mathematical modeling of the system transparent to the manager or managerial personnel and provides a feasible scenario of the human-in-the-loop management