Editing Autonomic computing (section)

==Characteristics of autonomic systems==
A possible solution could be to enable modern, networked computing systems to manage themselves without direct human intervention. The ''Autonomic Computing Initiative'' (ACI) aims at providing the foundation for autonomic systems. It is inspired by the [[autonomic nervous system]] of the human body.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/autonomic-computing | title=What is Ubiquitous Computing (Pervasive Computing)? }}</ref> This nervous system controls important bodily functions (e.g. respiration, [[heart rate]], and [[blood pressure]]) without any conscious intervention.

In a [[Self-management (computer science)|self-managing]] autonomic system, the human operator takes on a new role: instead of controlling the system directly, he/she defines general policies and rules that guide the self-management process. For this process, IBM defined the following four types of property referred to as self-star (also called self-*, self-x, or auto-*) properties. 
<ref name="Poslad">{{cite book | last = Poslad | first = Stefan | title = Autonomous systems and Artificial Life, In: Ubiquitous Computing Smart Devices, Smart Environments and Smart Interaction | publisher = Wiley | year = 2009 | pages = 317–341 | isbn = 978-0-470-03560-3 | url = http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/people/stefan/ubicom/index.html | access-date = 2015-03-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141210111324/http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/people/stefan/ubicom/index.html | archive-date = 2014-12-10 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

# Self-configuration: Automatic configuration of components;
# Self-healing: Automatic discovery, and correction of faults;<ref>{{Cite web | title = Self-Healing System | url=http://www.s-cube-network.eu/km/terms/s/self-healing-system|author=S-Cube Network}}</ref>
# [[Self-optimization]]: Automatic monitoring and control of resources to ensure the optimal functioning with respect to the defined requirements;
# Self-protection: Proactive identification and protection from arbitrary attacks.

Others such as Poslad<ref name="Poslad"/> and Nami and Sharifi<ref name="Nami">
{{cite conference | last = Nami | first = M.R. | author2=Sharifi, M. | title = Intelligent Information Processing III | chapter = A survey of autonomic computing systems | series = IFIP International Federation for Information Processing | year = 2007 | volume = 228 | pages=26–30 | doi = 10.1007/978-0-387-44641-7_11 | isbn = 978-0-387-44639-4 | s2cid = 6974127 | conference=Third International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS'07) | doi-access = free }}
</ref> have expanded on the set of self-star as follows:
# [[Homoeostasis|Self-regulation]]: A system that operates to maintain some parameter, e.g., [[Quality of service]], within a reset range without external control;
# Self-learning: Systems use machine learning techniques such as [[unsupervised learning]] which does not require external control;
# [[Self-awareness]] (also called Self-inspection and Self-decision): System must know itself. It must know the extent of its own resources and the resources it links to. A system must be aware of its internal components and external links in order to control and manage them;
# [[Self-organization]]: System structure driven by physics-type models without explicit pressure or involvement from outside the system;
# Self-creation (also called [[Self-assembly]], [[Self-replication]]): System driven by ecological and social type models without explicit pressure or involvement from outside the system. A system's members are self-motivated and self-driven, generating complexity and order in a creative response to a continuously changing strategic demand;
# Self-management (also called self-governance): A system that manages itself without external intervention. What is being managed can vary dependent on the system and application. Self -management also refers to a set of self-star processes such as autonomic computing rather than a single self-star process;
# Self-description (also called self-explanation or Self-representation): A system explains itself. It is capable of being understood (by humans) without further explanation. {{see also|Reflection (computer programming)}}

IBM has set forth eight conditions that define an autonomic system:<ref name="IBM_Research">{{Cite web
| url=http://www.research.ibm.com/autonomic/overview/elements.html
| title=IBM Research {{pipe}} Autonomic Computing {{pipe}} Overview {{pipe}} The 8 Elements
| access-date = 2021-12-27
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040812110419/http://www.research.ibm.com:80/autonomic/overview/elements.html
| archive-date = 2004-08-12
| url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref name="Webopedia">{{Cite web
| url=http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/autonomic_computing.html
| title=What is Autonomic Computing? Webopedia Definition
| date=22 June 2004
}}</ref>

The system must
# know itself in terms of what resources it has access to, what its capabilities and limitations are and how and why it is connected to other systems;
# be able to automatically configure and reconfigure itself depending on the changing computing environment;
# be able to optimize its performance to ensure the most efficient computing process;
# be able to work around encountered problems by either repairing itself or routing functions away from the trouble;
# detect, identify and protect itself against various types of attacks to maintain overall system security and integrity;
# adapt to its environment as it changes, interacting with neighboring systems and establishing communication protocols;
# rely on open standards and cannot exist in a proprietary environment;
# anticipate the demand on its resources while staying transparent to users.

Even though the purpose and thus the behaviour of autonomic systems vary from system to system, every autonomic system should be able to exhibit a minimum set of properties to achieve its purpose:

# [[Automaticity|Automatic]]: This essentially means being able to self-control its internal functions and operations. As such, an autonomic system must be self-contained and able to start-up and operate without any manual intervention or external help. Again, the knowledge required to bootstrap the system (''Know-how'') must be inherent to the system.
# [[Adaptive system|Adaptive]]: An autonomic system must be able to change its operation (i.e., its configuration, state and functions). This will allow the system to cope with temporal and spatial changes in its operational context either long term (environment customisation/optimisation) or short term (exceptional conditions such as malicious attacks, faults, etc.).
# [[Awareness|Aware]]: An autonomic system must be able to monitor (sense) its operational context as well as its internal state in order to be able to assess if its current operation serves its purpose. Awareness will control adaptation of its operational behaviour in response to context or state changes.