Investigation of factors that determine the ability of computer information systems to be self-healing

Self-healing features within future system designs could potentially help reduce computer system operational costs and allow for a reduction in complexity. When this research was conceived, reduction of operational costs within the IT field was a challenge. With today’s shrinking IT budgets, it has become a necessity. Automation and reduction of human interaction in system administration through the use of self-healing designs is one such method that can help reduce the overall cost, while improving utilisation can reduce the potential impact in relation to system downtime and performance. This thesis is concerned with the design, evaluation and analysis of a self-healing mechanism and its effects on a real-world computer data system’s availability and performance. The results from the analysis demonstrate the effects and benefits of using such a system in a real-world environment. It discusses what worked and what failed within the design and looks forward into what features and design could improve a self-healing system’s abilities.