Framework for Distributed Policy-Based Management in Wireless Sensor Networks to Support Autonomic Behavior

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) usually work in a heterogeneous environment, which makes a sensor's node very difficult to detect, access and manage. Therefore, there is a need for autonomic behavior to overcome these environmental challenges. A general way of implementing autonomic behavior in distributed systems is through the use of policies. However the conventional policy frameworks are generally too heavy to execute in the sensor node. Thus the goal of our research is to create a framework for distributed policy-based management in WSNs. Our proposed framework is expected to extend the WSN management functionalities compared with conventional policy management system like Finger/Finger2; it also conceals the complexity of administrating policies operations from the users by streamline the processes; finally, it overcomes the flaw in the existing frameworks about policy execution orders in some cases where multi-policies are required to ensure consistency and persistence.