Software - Implemented Self-healing System

Abstract

The term “Self-healing” denotes the capability of a software system in dealing with bugs. Fault tolerance for dependable computing is to provide the specified service through rigorous design whereas self-healing is meant for run-time issues. The paper describes various issues on designing a self-healing software application system that relies on the on-the-fly error detection and repair of web application or service agent code and data. Self-Healing is a very new area of research that deals with fault tolerance for dynamic systems. Self-healing deals with imprecise specification, uncontrolled environment and reconfiguration of system according to its dynamics. Software, which is capable of detecting and reacting to its malfunctions, is called self-healing software. Such software system has the ability to examine its failures and to take appropriate corrections. Self-Healing system must have knowledge about its expected behavior in order to examine whether its actual behavior deviates from its expected behavior in relation of the environment. A fault-model of Self-Healing system is to state what faults or injuries to be self-healed including fault duration, fault source such as, operational errors, defective system requirements or implementation errors etc. Self-healing categories of aspects include fault-model or fault hypothesis, System-response, System-completeness and Design-context. Based on many important literatures, this paper aims also to illustrate critical points of the emergent research topic of Self – Healing Software System.