Distributing and maintaining knowledge: agents in variable structure environments

The maintaining and adaptation of knowledge within changing environments is one of the crucial aspects in decentralized controlled and distributed systems. To explore different strategies and their consequences, the authors use an example where processors, structured in a hierarchy, are hired or fired responding to the requests of the current work load. The modeling and simulation approach uses the actor metaphor of open systems, where the nodes of the hierarchy are perceived as autonomous agents with an internal explicit model about their environment. Questions about the distribution and maintenance of knowledge referring to the structure of systems, needs for cooperation, and the change of roles are discussed against the background of the example and complete the picture about the specific effects of the single strategies. DEVS, a knowledge-based simulation environment, constitutes the background of the authors' exploration.<>