The role of reflection in supporting dynamic QoS management functions

In previous papers, the authors have reported on the design and implementation of reflective middleware platforms. The aim of this paper is to consider the implications of such an architecture for the area of quality of service (QoS) management. More specifically, the paper describes how critical QoS management functions can be incorporated into our reflective middleware platform, with particular emphasis on the dynamic QoS management functions of QoS monitoring and adaptation. It is argued that the reflective approach leads to a natural and highly flexible implementation of such QoS management functions (and indeed the approach offers considerable benefits over more conventional approaches).