Experiences Using Intelligent Agent Technologies as a Unifying Approach to Network Management, Service Management and Service Delivery

Research into Artificial Intelligence, and specifically Distributed AI has identified agent technology as offering a key role in future systems. The technology does not discriminate by application area, and is equally applicable to wrapping legacy technologies and systems as it is to implementing new systems. The Intelligent Systems Group at Broadcom eireann Research Ltd. has been investigating the suitability of Intelligent Agents (IAs) as an enabling technology for a unifying approach to network and service management systems. Such an approach should support network management, service management and service delivery in a seamless manner, to best satisfy an operator's business needs. This paper catalogues the work done into the use of IA technologies within each of these management areas and on the integration of software components and legacy systems. This work has employed an open, distributed, language-independent multi-agent platform known as the Agent Services Layer (ASL), which was developed by Broadcom eireann Research's Intelligent Systems Group. The architecture of this platform and experiences gained on its application to the above mentioned problem domains are outlined.