Task: Identify Required Supporting Infrastructure
Identifies infrastructure services that are part of the system but are not agents themselves.
Disciplines: Architecture
Relationships
Parent Practices
RolesPrimary Performer: Additional Performers:
InputsMandatory:
    Optional:
    • None
    Outputs
      Main Description

      In many cases, the agents in the system rely on infrastructure for specific purposes. Examples are certification authorities that provide certificates in a public key infrastructure, directory services that can be queried to find other agents with specific capabilities, or external sensors that provide information about the environment. These infrastructure services have to be identified and a decision whether these have to be implemented or can be reused from existing solutions has to be made.

      Steps
      Identify infrastructure the agents rely on
      Check the requirements documents for overarching system services that are used by the agents.
      Determine whether the infrastructure has to be implemented or an existing solution can be used
      Many multi-agent systems provide a number of services like directories. Other infrastructure services can be adapted from existing software or externally purchased.
      Key Considerations

      In many cases, these services are provided by the multi-agent system that serves as the basis for the system under development or are available as external services that can be called over a clearly defined interface. In other cases, the services have to be implemented by the developers. Identifying the supporting infrastructure early on can help find the best multi-agent system to use and help define requirements on the external services if they are purchased from other vendors.