Model driven engineering of cross-layer monitoring and adaptation

Monitoring and adaptation of multilayer systems are challenging, because the mismatches and adaptations are interrelated across the layers. This interrelation introduces two important but difficult questions. 1) When a system change causes mismatches in one layer, how to identify all the cascaded mismatches on the other layers? 2) When an adaptation is performed at one layer, how to find out all the complementary adaptations required in other layers. This paper presents a model-driven engineering approach towards cross-layer monitoring and adaption of multilayer systems. We provide standard meta-modeling languages for system experts to specify the concepts and constraints separately for each layer, as well as the relations among the concepts from different layers. An automated engine uses these meta-level specifications to 1) represent the system states on each layer as a runtime model, 2) evaluate the constraints to detect mismatches and assist adaptations within a layer, and 3) synchronize the models to identify cascaded mismatches and complementary adaptations across the layers. We illustrate the approach on a simulated crisis management system, and are using it on a number of ongoing projects.