Some of the work of establishing autonomic networks is going on now. These kinds of networks are sometimes referred to as grids. Grids, which connect one or more computer networks into a larger network, are a piece that needs to be in place to support wider autonomic computing initiatives, Donofrio said. IBM is also working to bring other new products to market, including X-Series servers and storage systems, as well as Tivoli Systems management software that incorporate autonomic features. New software called Client Rescue and Recovery software will help PC users recover from a catastrophic failure quickly by backing up a PC's image -- its software load, settings and data -- in real time to a network. The data can then be accessed via the network or moved to a new PC. A new IBM Global Services unit will assist customers in testing their networks for their ability to react to and recover from disasters. IBM will also establish several "Autonomic Computing innovation centres" that will allow customers and IBM business partners to test their autonomic hardware and software. In all, Big Blue will be "turning up the heat and taking a much more coordinate approach across the company and also across the industry", Ganek said. IBM presented a five-stage model of the network that ranges from basic, which requires a high level of human intervention, to predictive, where computers have limited ability to detect problems and alert IT staffers, and eventually to autonomic, where networks are fully automated, with the ability to independently manage themselves without human interaction. IBM plans to build autonomic capabilities into many of its products going forward, offering customers who were already planning upgrades even more bang for the buck. Autonomic computing "is a vision that will take several years to realise," Gilpin said. "But with the model that IBM has outlined, there are benefits attainable at every step, which pay you back... fairly quickly for the investments you make."
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