Automating the deployment of componentized systems

Embedded and self-adaptive systems demand continuous adap- tation and reconfiguration activities based on changing quality condi- tions and context information. As a consequence, systems have to be (re)deployed several times and software components need to be mapped onto new or existing hardware pieces. Today, the way to determine an optimal deployment in complex systems, often performed at runtime, constitutes a well-known challenge. In this paper we highlight the major problems of automatic deployment and present a research plan to reach for an UML-based solution for the deployment of componentized sys- tems. As a first step towards a solution, we use the UML superstructure to suggest a way to redeploy UML component diagrams based on the inputs and outputs required to enact an automatic deployment process.Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT) SETI (TIN2009-07366

Runtime variability for dynamic reconfiguration in wireless sensor network product lines

Runtime variability is a key technique for the success of Dynamic Software Product Lines (DSPLs), as certain application demand reconfiguration of system features and execution plans at runtime. In this emerging research work we address the problem of dynamic changes in feature models in sensor networks product families, where nodes of the network demand dynamic reconfiguration at post-deployment time

Quality attributes use in architecture design decision methods: research and practice

Over the past 10 years software architecture has been perceived as the result of a set of architecture design decisions rather than the elements that form part of the software design. As quality attributes are considered major drivers of the design process to achieve high quality systems, the design decisions that drive the selection and use of specific quality properties and vice versa are closely related. Consequently, quality attributes must play a role for decision making processes and be documented alongside the decisions captured. Consequently, we conduct a systematic literature review to study the importance and impact of the relationships between quality attributes and architecture design decisions and to what extent existing architecture knowledge management methods and tools deal with the decisions that affect the quality of a system. We also report on the challenges and future research paths for architectural knowledge management methods and tools. Our results reveal important explicit relationships between both software artifacts, the role of uncertainty in decision making and empirical studies reporting the use of quality attributes in architecture knowledge management activities

An Overview of Dynamic Software Product Line Architectures and Techniques: Observations from Research and Industry

Over the last two decades, software product lines have been used successfully in industry for buildingfamilies of systems of related products, maximizing reuse, and exploiting their variable and configurableoptions. In a changing world, modern software demands more and more adaptive features, many ofthem performed dynamically, and the requirements on the software architecture to support adapta-tion capabilities of systems are increasing in importance. Today, many embedded system families andapplication domains such as ecosystems, service-based applications, and self-adaptive systems demandruntime capabilities for flexible adaptation, reconfiguration, and post-deployment activities. However,as traditional software product line architectures fail to provide mechanisms for runtime adaptation andbehavior of products, there is a shift toward designing more dynamic software architectures and buildingmore adaptable software able to handle autonomous decision-making, according to varying conditions.Recent development approaches such as Dynamic Software Product Lines (DSPLs) attempt to face thechallenges of the dynamic conditions of such systems but the state of these solution architectures isstill immature. In order to provide a more comprehensive treatment of DSPL models and their solutionarchitectures, in this research work we provide an overview of the state of the art and current techniquesthat, partially, attempt to face the many challenges of runtime variability mechanisms in the context ofDynamic Software Product Lines. We also provide an integrated view of the challenges and solutions thatare necessary to support runtime variability mechanisms in DSPL models and software architectures