Main projects

Multimedia Middleware for Low Latency High Throughput Environments The aim of MULTE is to develop flexible and adaptable middleware that supports a broad range of Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements of distributed multimedia applications. In particular, continuous media streams, enhanced interoperable stream multicast for heterogeneous environments, and constrained latency high throughput.

Next Generation Middleware Reflection in Open Distributed Systems ''Middleware has recently emerged as a key architectural component in supporting distributed applications. In our view, the role of middleware is to present a unified programming model to application writers and to mask out problems of heterogeneity and distribution. Key examples of middleware standards and platforms include the ISO/ITU-T Reference Model for Open Distributed Processing, OMG's CORBA, and Microsoft's DirectShow architecture. It is important however that such middleware platforms remain responsive to new end user demands and the emergence of new technology. Key challenges that we are interested in include support for multimedia applications, and meeting the demands of mobile computing (other challenges include real-time computing and high integrity systems). In our opinion, such challenges require new approaches to the design and implementation of middleware platforms in terms of i) being able to configure the underlying support offered by the platform, and ii) being able to reconfigure this support should initial assumptions change (e.g. as is often the case in mobile computing).''

Subprojects

Dynamic Configuration of Protocols The goal of protocol configuration in Da CaPo is to create for each connection request at runtime a protocol that fulfills the Quality of Service requirements of the application and is as light as possible. The current version is designed and implemented on SunOS 4.1.3, and is ported straight-forward to ChorusOS 3.1 (aka Chorus ClassiX 3.1). A re-design and implementation is ongoing, take a look at how the documentation page is ''populated''.

Connecting 3Com Palm handheld computers to our research environment, experiment with protocols and operating system features.

Extensions and modifications to the Sun ChorusOS micro-kernel operating system (former Chorus ClassiX). Added features: Real-time scheduling mechanisms for multimedia data Multimedia file system Flexible buffer management, i.e. buffer management

Chorus COOL ORB (ChorusORB) with Da CaPo configurable protocols, using the extended ChorusOS platform. Basis for building our own multimedia ORB; the MULTE ORB.

Washington University St. Louis Gigabit ATM switch (WUGS-20) and network adapter (APIC). The Gigabit testbed at UniK will be used during testing of the multimedia middleware and applications developed in the MULTE project.