Run-Time Models for Self-Managing Systems and Applications : Birkhauser : 9783034604321 : 3034604327 : 16 Nov 2010 : The complexity of Information Technology (IT) systems has been steadily incre- ing in the past decades. In October 2001, IBM released the ?Autonomic Computing Manifesto? observing that current applications have reached the size of millions of lines of code, while physical infrastructures include thousands of heterogeneous servers requiring skilled IT professionals to install, con?gure, tune, and maintain. System complexity has been recognized as the main obstacle to the further advan- ment of IT technology. The basic idea of Autonomic Computing is to develop IT systems that are able to manage themselves, as the human autonomic nervous system governs basic body functions such as heart rate or body temperature, thus freeing the conscious brain? IT administrators?from the burden of dealing with low-level vital functions. Autonomic Computing systems can be implemented by int