Modelling deployment using feature descriptions and state models for component-based software product families

Products within a product family are composed of different component configurations where components have different variable features and a large amount of dependency relationships with each other. The deployment of such products can be error prone and highly complex if the dependencies between components and the possible features a component can supply are not managed explicitly. This paper presents a method that uses the knowledge available about components to ensure correct, complete, and consistent deployment of configurations of interrelated components. The method provided allows the user to perform analysis on the deployment before the deployment is performed, thus allowing error prevention before making any changes to the system. The method and model are discussed and presented to provide an alternative to current component deployment techniques.