InfoSleuth 1 is an agent-based system for information discovery and retrieval in a dynamic, open environment. This paper discusses InfoSleuth's multibroker design and implementation. InfoSleuth's brokering function combines reasoning over both the syntax and semantics of agents in the domain. The broker must reason over explicitly advertised information about agent capabilities to determine which agent can best provide the requested services. Brokering in InfoSleuth is a match-making process, recommending agents that provide services to agents requesting services. Robustness and scalability issues dictate that brokering must be distributable across collaborating processes. Our multibroker design is a peer-to-peer system that requires brokers to advertise to and receive advertisements from other brokers. Brokers collaborate during matchmaking to give a collective response to requests initiated by non-broker agents. This results in a robust, scalable brokering system.
The goal of the InfoSleuth project at MCC is to exploit and synthesize new technologies into a unified system that retrieves and processes information in an ever-changing network of information sources. InfoSleuth has its roots in the Carnot project at MCC, which specialized in integrating heterogeneous information bases. However, recent emerging technologies such as internetworking and the World Wide Web have significantly expanded the types, availability, and volume of data available to an information management system. Furthermore, in these new environments, there is no formal control over the registration of new information sources, and applications tend to be developed without complete knowledge of the resources that will be available when they are run. Federated databaee projects such as Carnot that do static data integration do not scale up and do not cope well with this ever-changing environment. On the other hand, recent Web technologies, based on keyword search engines, are scalable but, unlike federated databases, are incapable of accessing information based on concepts. In this experience paper, we describe the architecture, design, and implementation of a working version of InfoSleuth. We show how InfoSleuth integrates new technological developments such as agent technology, domain ontologies, brokerage, and internet computing, in support of mediated interoperation of data and services in a dynamic and open environment. We demonstrate the use of information brokering and domain ontologies as key elements for scalability.
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