Middleware services for interoperability in open mobile agent systems

Despite the design and implementation of several mobile agent (MA) platform s, widely diffused services based on the MA programming paradigm are still lacking. Apart from the security challenges imposed by the MA technology, t he paper claims that interoperability between MAs, legacy systems and heter ogeneous MA platforms is a major obstacle to the MA diffusion. The paper di scusses solutions to permit the interworking between MA platforms and other systems, even non-MA-based, via compliance with either accepted or emergin g interoperability standards. In particular, it focuses on compliance with CORBA, the accepted standard for object-oriented components, but also with MASIF and FIPA, respectively, the OMG specification for the support of agen t mobility and management, and the framework for standard agent platforms a nd communication languages. The discussed solutions have guided the design and implementation of the middleware interoperability service in the secure and open mobile agents (SOMA) programming framework. The SOMA interoperabi lity service is structured in a layered and modular way: its components can be dynamically distributed and installed only where and when needed. The p aper also presents an application scenario in the area of network, systems and service management, where the interoperability components permit the in terworking of SOMA agents, SNMP-compliant elements, legacy resources, and n on-SOMA MA platforms. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.