Protocol-Based Cooperation in a Virtual Manufacturing Organization
説明
Cooperation between the members of a virtual manufacturing organization can be described as following a certain protocol, similar to communication protocols in distributed systems. We investigate how it is possible to model such protocols explicitly, for an organization modeled as a client-server system where one member (a client) can request another (a server) to fulfill a certain production goal. The goal is given in an abstract way: the type of the product and its required quantity. It is up to the server to decide if and how to implement this goal. We present several protocols how the servers can react to such requests and the clients receive their responses. We also discuss how the choice of a protocol affects the behavior of the whole organization.