September 1, 2000 UNT Inhouse publication: Intelligent software?

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Intelligent software?

Imagine intelligent computer software programs that have the ability to replace people as computer network managers.

Now you can stop imagining — a UNT professor and a group of graduate students in the Department of Computer Sciences have created these independent programs called "intelligent mobile agents." Currently they're perfecting this software, which will be able to think, work and reproduce on its own.

These smart programs may be the caretakers for future networks like the Internet 2, a high bandwidth network between academic and research institutions. And they may be coming soon to a computer near you. Mobile agents will be programmed to travel throughout a network to gather requested information like a computer librarian and manage the flow of the data they collect.

So, if too much information is coming through one part of a network, causing a slow speed on the Internet, these beneficial agents, which travel like viruses, can redirect data on their own. They also will be capable of repairing and maintaining the software of linked computers. These agents will be intelligent enough to reproduce as many of their kind as needed to perform their duties, says Armin Mikler, assistant professor of computer sciences.

Currently each agent is being tested in an isolated computer environment. UNT's computer scientists are finding out which agents perform best on their own. Once this testing is completed, the agents will be placed in a cluster of 16 smaller inexpensive computers linked together by a high-speed network connection, called a Gigabit Ethernet, providing a realistic testing ground.

The now defunct Packet Engines in Spokane, Wash., donated the $15,000 in computers and networking equipment being used for the research. Alcatel in Richardson bought out Packet Engines.