The Research And Realization Of Mobile Agent System Supporting Workflow Management

As Intemet/WWW develops rapidly all over the world, Multi-Agent System becomes the research hotspots of current software technology. Because Multi-Agent System supports parallel computation and cooperation, it is believed as the farther development of problem solution in the realistic, distributed and open system. In a Multi-Agent System, Mobile Agent supplies a flexible pattern for distributed application based on Internet.Mobile Agent is a program that can move from one host to another in the heterogeneous networks and can intercourse with other agent and resource. Workflow Management System is a software system running on some workflow engines and used to define, realize, and manage the workflow. Workflow Management System communicates with executor in workflow (such as human or applications), advances the execution of workflow example, monitors and controls the state during the workflow executes. Mobile Agent system supporting workflow management can make the distributed workflow in heterogeneous networks more simple and flexible.The content of this paper is a part of the Research of Security in Multi-Agent System Platform, an item of Natural Science Fund, ShaanXi Province, 2003. Firstly, this paper analysis the basic concepts, characteristics, and logical development relation of software Agent and Mobile Agent, summarizes the advantages of Mobile Agent in instance of narrow bandwidth and large delay. This paper pays more attentions to key components of Mobile Agent System, such as migration mechanism of Mobile Agent, and security strategy of Mobile Agent System. In this paper, a model of Mobile Agent System Supporting Workflow Management is analyzed. Referring to the MASIF and FIPA, two cooperation specifications, considering some disadvantages of workflow management technology, this paper takes up with combining the workflow management technology with Mobile Agent System, researches and develops the migration strategyand the security strategy in the Mobile Agent System Supporting Workflow Management. All of these contents are the premise for the research of security in multi-Agent system platform.