A runtime quality architecture for service-oriented systems

Abstract

System quality aspects such as dependability, adaptability to a changing runtime environment, and concerns such as cost and provider reputation, are increasingly important in a competitive software service market. Service-oriented system quality is not just a function of the quality of a provided service, but the interdependencies between services, the resource constraints of the runtime environment and network outages. This makes it difficult to anticipate how these factors might influence system behaviour, making it difficult to specify the right system environment in advance. Current quality management schemes for service-oriented systems are inadequate for ensuring runtime system quality as they focus on static service properties, rather than emergent properties. They also offer the consumer only limited control over the quality of service. This paper describes a novel consumer-centred runtime architecture that combines service monitoring, negotiation, forecasting and vendor reputation, to provide a self-managing mechanism for ensuring runtime quality in service-oriented systems. © 2008 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.