An internal monitor observes the state of the managed component and passes this information to the self monitor for evaluation and action. The measured
state is compared with the expected state held in a system knowledge base.
Undesirable deviations are reported to the self adjuster for action, which may result
in changes to the managed component. Similarly, an external monitor observes the state of the environment via an autonomic signal channel and this also may trigger internal changes.
The signal channel provides linkage to other autonomic managers.
These may be virtual (in the same physical system), peer-to-peer or networked.