Agent-oriented middleware for telecommunications network and service management

This report introduces an architecture for agent-oriented middleware (an extension and generalisation of object-oriented middleware), and considers the use and usability of agent-oriented middleware for network and service management in telecommunications applications. This is research being undertaken as part of the EPSRC-funded CASBAh project (Common Agent Service Brokering Architecture) and is motivated by the increasing complexity of the telecommunications industry (caused by a multiplicity of service providers, deregulation of markets, and the move towards service-oriented operations) and of telecommunications technology (for example mobile and feature phones, asynchronous transfer mode, and computer-telephony integration).