An Architectural Strategy for Self-Adapting Systems

Self-adaptation is the ability of a software system to adapt to dynamic and changing operating conditions autonomously. In this paper, we present an architectural strategy for self-adapting systems. An architectural strategy embodies architectural knowledge about a particular solution approach. The architectural strategy for self-adapting systems structures the software into a number of interacting autonomous entities (agents) that are situated in an environment. It integrates a set of architectural patterns that have proved to be valuable in the design of various self-adapting applications. The self-adapting properties of the approach are based on the agents´ abilities to adapt their behavior to dynamic and changing circumstances. The architectural strategy provides an asset base architects can draw from when developing new self-adapting applications that share its common base.