FIPA-compliant agents for real-time control of Intelligent Network traffic

Autonomy, adaptability, scalability, and flexible communications are all attributes of agents and multi-agent systems which suggest that they may offer timely solutions for dealing with the growing complexity of the tasks of traffic control and resource management in telecommunications networks. However, if agent-based solutions to network management problems are to be successful then it will be important that heterogeneous agents and agent platforms inter-operate in accordance with internationally accepted standards. Although standards of this nature are being developed, they are not tailored specifically to the needs of the telecommunications domain, with the result that important issues, such as support for the operation of agent systems in real-time constrained environments, do not seem to be adequately addressed. We present two agent-based systems for control of traffic load and resource allocation in Intelligent Networks. One of these strategies is based on the concepts of `Market-based Control', the other on the concepts of `Ant Colony Optimisation'. Using the market-based strategy as an example we show that enhancements to existing FIPA specifications would be required to implement these strategies in order to satisfy their real-time operation constraints. We also suggest a number of potential enhancements to FIPA specifications that would alleviate some of the identified problems.