Autonomic Computing - Tomorrow's
technology, today
Why
Autonomic Computing?
As quickly as computer
technology has advanced, so has the cost and complexity
of deploying, managing and maintaining that technology.
However, today's economic environment is forcing businesses
to demand a real return on technology investments.
To
address this paradox, several leading IT vendors are
starting to look for ways to manage increasingly complex
IT infrastructures so that customers can get back to
focusing on the benefits technology brings to their
business, rather than the technology itself. While still
a mere vision that is thought to be eight to 10 years
away, one ideology calls for the development of autonomic
computing: computer systems that configure and manage
themselves, automatically diagnose and fix their own
problems, and figure out how to protect themselves in
the future, thereby greatly reducing the cost and complexity
of IT infrastructure.
What is Autonomic Computing?
IBM
Corporation defines Autonomic Computing as an approach to self-managed
computing systems with a minimum of human interference. The term derives
from the body's autonomic nervous system, which controls key functions
without conscious awareness or involvement.
Autonomic Computing systems are systems which
are self-managed (adjust itself according to workload demands), self-healing
(detect, diagnose and repair problems), self-configuring (automatically
incorporate and configure new components), self-optimizing (performance
tuning), and self-protecting (anticipate and defend against security breaches)
resulting in ultra-reliable, robust, yet dynamically flexible systems.
The State of Autonomic
Computing
The
research departments at several organizations, including
IBM Autonomic Computing, Microsoft .NET, Sun N1 and
HP Adaptive Infrastructure, have just recently started
initiatives to focus on autonomic and next generation
computing. Net Integration Technologies has been developing
and delivering award-winning, next generation Autonomic
Computing technology since 1997.
Nitix, the World's First
Autonomic Server Operating System
Nitix is the first server operating system
in the world that satisfies the criteria of an autonomic
computing system:
Self-managing: Adjusting itself according
to workload demands
On a Nitix-powered server, if an administrator
changes the configuration of a particular service,
Nitix automatically updates affected subsystems. For
example, firewall and DNS parameters are automatically
(and correctly) updated, when an administrator makes
his web server public. NetIntelligence
is the unique technology that enables Nitix's self-managing
capabilities.
Self-healing: Detecting, diagnosing
and repairing problems
Nitix is able to detect and correct
problems that on other servers would result in downtime,
and then human intervention to remedy. NetIntelligence
is the unique technology that enables Nitix's self-healing
capabilities.
Self-configuring: Automatically incorporating
and configuring new components
When setting up a new Nitix-powered
server, Nitix automatically detects and configures
standard networking parameters. When adding new users
to Nitix-powered server, Nitix automatically creates
a personal directory, an email account and a personal
webpage for each user. By automating many standard
server configuration tasks, Nitix-powered servers
allow our Approved
Partners to focus on customizations that are specific
to the unique business requirements of their end-user
customers. NetIntelligence
is the unique technology that enables Nitix's self-configuring
capabilities.
Self-protecting: Anticipating and
defending against security breaches
Based on the requirements of the end-user
customer and their local-area network, Nitix-powered
servers automatically erect and configure secure firewalls.
Nitix-powered servers also have the ability to detect
and evade malicious external attacks. If a foreign
program should attempt to modify the Nitix operating
system, Nitix will automatically write-over that attempted
change.
Learn more about
Net Integration Technologies' Nitix Autonomic Linux-based Operating System.
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the United States, other countries, or both.
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