Autonomic workflow execution in the grid

Mobile agents are being leveraged in both workflow management and grid computing contexts. The convergence of these two research streams supports execution in the grid where tasks are allowed to vary in their level of interdependence. The result is an expansion of grid applications beyond those which consist of homogeneous computations decomposed and performed in parallel to those which support the parallel execution of sequences of interdependent tasks that constitute a workflow. However, grid computation of critical workflows requires that the grid platform exhibits the autonomic characteristic of self-healing in order to ensure workflow execution. To address this issue, in this work, we first develop a model for dynamic fault tolerance technique selection, which can be embedded generically in a mobile agent workflow management system. We then augment an existing architecture for flexible fault tolerance in the grid with our model, thus allowing the system to optimally configure its fault tolerance mechanisms through awareness of the computational environment. The result is a foundation for autonomic workflow management in the grid.