6,266 research outputs found
Active networks: an evolution of the internet
Active Networks can be seen as an evolution of the classical model of packet-switched networks. The traditional and ”passive” network model is based on a static definition of the network node behaviour. Active Networks propose an “active” model where the intermediate nodes (switches and routers) can load and execute user code contained in the data units (packets). Active Networks are a programmable network model, where bandwidth and computation are both considered shared network resources. This approach opens up new interesting research fields. This paper gives a short introduction of Active
Networks, discusses the advantages they introduce and presents the research advances in this field
A Configurable Transport Layer for CAF
The message-driven nature of actors lays a foundation for developing scalable
and distributed software. While the actor itself has been thoroughly modeled,
the message passing layer lacks a common definition. Properties and guarantees
of message exchange often shift with implementations and contexts. This adds
complexity to the development process, limits portability, and removes
transparency from distributed actor systems.
In this work, we examine actor communication, focusing on the implementation
and runtime costs of reliable and ordered delivery. Both guarantees are often
based on TCP for remote messaging, which mixes network transport with the
semantics of messaging. However, the choice of transport may follow different
constraints and is often governed by deployment. As a first step towards
re-architecting actor-to-actor communication, we decouple the messaging
guarantees from the transport protocol. We validate our approach by redesigning
the network stack of the C++ Actor Framework (CAF) so that it allows to combine
an arbitrary transport protocol with additional functions for remote messaging.
An evaluation quantifies the cost of composability and the impact of individual
layers on the entire stack
GRIDKIT: Pluggable overlay networks for Grid computing
A `second generation' approach to the provision of Grid middleware is now emerging which is built on service-oriented architecture and web services standards and technologies. However, advanced Grid applications have significant demands that are not addressed by present-day web services platforms. As one prime example, current platforms do not support the rich diversity of communication `interaction types' that are demanded by advanced applications (e.g. publish-subscribe, media streaming, peer-to-peer interaction). In the paper we describe the Gridkit middleware which augments the basic service-oriented architecture to address this particular deficiency. We particularly focus on the communications infrastructure support required to support multiple interaction types in a unified, principled and extensible manner-which we present in terms of the novel concept of pluggable overlay networks
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