Low-level Control of Network Elements from an Agent Platform

An important issue for the implementation of an agent system, which controls a telecommunications network, is to enable low-level access of the network devices by the agent platform, bypassing the control logic inherent in them. This issue has been coped with successfully in the IMPACT project. Although the specific implementation targeted an ATM network environment, the concepts formulated during this implementation are generic and can be also used in the adaptation of other network technologies for agent-based control and management. The fact that the project has succeeded in having IP applications operating seamlessly over an agent-controlled ATM network illustrates this generality.