A cooperative approach to support software deployment using the software dock

Software deployment is an evolving collection of interrelated processes such as release, install, adapt, reconfigure, update, activate, deactivate, remove, and retire. The connectivity of large networks, such as the Internet, is affecting how software deployment is performed. It is necessary to introduce new software deployment technologies that leverage this connectivity. The Software Dock framework creates a distributed, agent based deployment framework to support the ongoing cooperation and negotiation among software producers themselves and among software producers and software consumers. This deployment framework is enabled by the use of a standardized deployment schema for describing software systems, called the Deployable Software Description (DSD) format. The Software Dock also employs agents to traverse between software producers and consumers in order to perform software deployment activities by interpreting the descriptions of software systems. The Software Dock infrastructure allows software producers to offer their customers high level deployment services that were previously not possible.