Autonomic Computing

by Richard Murch

A definitive guide to understanding and implementing Autonomic Computing - an important new technology and strategic initiative from IBM. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 013144025X
• ISBN13: 9780131440258
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.2" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Useful to me as a computer manager

I have read the reviews and I have read the book and to be frank I suspect the reveiws were not written by IT managers with the problems of running a large shop of hundreds of computers. From my viewpoint the book showed that IBM and others are working on solutions to the nightmare of computer support....just that alone was worth the read. I found the book well laid out and readable.

Let's try again

[For some reason my first review disappeared without trace.]Yes, I know it's an IBM Press publication, so dial up your "self-serving effluent" filters - but not too high. Overall this is a really useful book. While it's targeted at CIOs and their staffs (folks who have read, and bought into, the Autonomic Computing Manifesto), it's not afraid to dive the details and point at source code to back up the architectural diagrams. It discusses what's going on in the research community and what competitors are up to. And I like the way the author models "customer maturity"; the readiness and ability of customers to take up some of the things described in the book. I disagree with some of his numbers, but without this kind of model the temptation to believe one's own propaganda is irresistible.There are a few goofs (mobile agents? please, no), as well as some yawning gaps (systems modelling and policy languages). And while it's reasonable to skip the IBM-heavy business stuff at the front on a first reading, don't put the book away without going back to it. In particular, don't skip chapter 2, on the costs of complexity. And please ignore the petty criticisms of those who can't see past minor production issues. If they actually understood this book, they wouldn't be distracted by such irrelevant details.I've bought two copies of this book so far and given them away to people that need to be thinking about this stuff. And no, they weren't business expenses.

The Author Comments

As the author of this book, I feel it necessary to refute the misconceptions and disinformation attempted to be applied by certain reviewers.1. Hastily written/ Shoddy - I spent 8 continuous months researching, interviewing, discussing this book with numerous people, teams, management, software corporations and developers of autonomic computing both within and outside of IBM. I cannot see how this gives the impression to some people that is "hastily written"2. Poorly Edited - a great deal of thought, action and design went into the production style, approach and artwork. All the figures were originally drawn and constructed by artists at Pearson Prentice Hall.3. Typos - Errors in words of works this size are not unusual, but regrettable even with the best copyediting and proof reading and errors will be corrected in the next printing of the book. I am inclined to look at this in another light, for example:1. The book size is 300 pages.2. The average no of words per page is 400 - I can confirm this as I wrote every word.3. Total number of words in the book 120,0004. Assuming 19 typos5. That is an error rate is 0.0001% - I can live with that until book is reprinted.Whilst I respect reviewers right to offer opinions - they are and remain just that OPINIONS.I recommend potential readers to judge for themselves. - buy the book and judge for themselves.Richard Murch

extraordinary job ----- a fine book

This is the first book on autonomic computing to be published. And despite the enormity of the subject, the author has done an extraordinary job in producing a fine book. It is directed at a very wide audience from IT management to programmers, IT architects and other IT related management staff. There is something here for everybody. This is not a "feel good book " about a new technology rather a through assessment of its potential, pitfalls and who is in the game. It is not an IBM sales book by any means and the author has taken a totally independent observer approach.It addresses some fundamental IT issues such as IT complexity, speed of implementation, why now, open standards, implementation issues, other vendors such as Microsoft, Sun, HP who have similar autonomic strategies and how they compare with IBM. I am particularly interested in the issues of complexity and how promise that autonomic computing will reduce and eventually eliminate this.To summarize, a fine book on a very topical subject - highly recommended.