On the Migration to and Synthesis of (Micro-)services: The Use of Intelligent Techniques

Abstract

This chapter investigates the use of Computational Intelligence (CI) to tackle two challenges in the area of services. The first is involved with providing efficient decision support for migrating from monolithic to service-oriented software, while the latter addresses automatic service composition, which is a special form of service migration. Migration to service-oriented architecture (SOA) is influenced by a number of different and intertwined factors. These factors are identified through literature review and expert consultation. Different CI models, such as Fuzzy Influence Diagrams and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps, are employed to organize the factors and study their behavior. Various simulations are conducted that enable decision makers to execute what-if scenarios and take informed decisions as to whether to migrate or not to SOA, as well as to study the decisive factors contributing in favor or against this migration. Service synthesis is a tedious task considering on one hand the plethora of available services and on the other their different, often conflicting characteristics. Automation of this task is therefore a critical issue which deserves attention. In this context, the challenge of automatic service synthesis is addressed through specific methods and techniques based on Evolutionary Computation to achieve such automation to the best possible extent.