Role-Based Systems are Autonomic

Autonomic Computing is a newly emerging computing paradigm in order to create computer systems capable of self-management and overcome the rapidly growing complexity of computing systems management. To possess self-* properties, there must be mechanisms to support self-awareness, i.e., an autonomic system should be able to perceive the abnormality of its components. After abnormality is checked, a process of self-healing or self-configuration must be completed to guarantee the system works correctly and continuously. In role-based collaboration (RBC), roles are the major media for interaction, coordination, and collaboration. A role can be used to check if a player behaves well or not. This paper investigates the possibility of using roles and a role engine to diagnose the behavior of agents, and facilitate self-* properties of a system. The paper asserts that role-based systems are autonomic.