This presentation introduces the M-Zones approach for the integrated management of distributed
networks, services and applications within Smart Spaces. The main objective of this approach is the
realisation of software, systems and services that address composition, scalability, reliability and
robustness as well as autonomous self-adaptation. It focuses on middleware for management, control and
use of fully distributed resources. The term integration refers to the task of unifying existing
instrumentations for middleware and management, not their replacement.
The rationale of this work stems from the fact, that the current situation of Smart Spaces and
management systems can be described with the term interworking. The actually needed integration of
management and middle-ware concepts is still an open issue. However, identified trends in
communications and computing demand for integrated concepts rather than the definition of new
interworking scenarios.
The approach is discussed in three steps. First, a general framework is defined based on the
hypothesis and an evaluation of the target environments. The second step is the derivation of a
conception for ubiquitous management from this general framework. The last step is the realisation of
this architecture and its exploitation.