Distributed Client/Server Architecture With Dynamic Middle Tier

Widespread use of computer networks and the demanding needs of current network applications and technology impose a challenge to use the bandwidths in an efficient manner so as to solve the network congestion and server overloading problems. Some past and on-going solutions such as server replications and caching have been proposed to overcome these deficiencies. However, these solutions have not been implemented in an economical and configuration-transparent manner. Moreover, the problems of caching and disseminating real-time multimedia data in a bandwidth-conservative manner have not been addressed. In this thesis, a CHEK Proxy Framework (CPF) has been developed using a proxy solution to address these problems. By caching, proxy has become a traditional solution in reducing user-perceived latency and network resource requirements in the network. CPF helps to create a middle-tier application platform proxy transparently and dynamically in the client sub-network to execute the sharable section of any server application codes. This is as the application proxy. Besides caching static web contents, this local application proxy helps to deliver real-time multimedia data on behalf of the remote server with lower bandwidth and better performance. CPF helps to minimize WAN connections while maximizing LAN interactions by multiplexing and de-multiplexing client requests through to the server via the proxy. As a result, the central server is made more reliable and scalable. The monitoring and management of the CHEK distributed objects is also made easier through the use of the CHEK Management Console (CMC). CMC displays the inter-relationships between the distributed objects and their status information on a GUI-based control panel for ease of management. With its dynamic and transparent features, software verslOrung and maintenance problems are readily overcome. CPF has been shown to be useful in most client/server applications, particularly those of broadcasting and collaborative nature such as video broadcastings and chat systems. CPF solves the network congestion and server overloading problems with the presence of a middle-tier proxy application platform which is allocated in the client sub-network with no manual configurations

CASPR: Judiciously Using the Cloud for Wide-Area Packet Recovery

We revisit a classic networking problem -- how to recover from lost packets in the best-effort Internet. We propose CASPR, a system that judiciously leverages the cloud to recover from lost or delayed packets. CASPR supplements and protects best-effort connections by sending a small number of coded packets along the highly reliable but expensive cloud paths. When receivers detect packet loss, they recover packets with the help of the nearby data center, not the sender, thus providing quick and reliable packet recovery for latency-sensitive applications. Using a prototype implementation and its deployment on the public cloud and the PlanetLab testbed, we quantify the benefits of CASPR in providing fast, cost effective packet recovery. Using controlled experiments, we also explore how these benefits translate into improvements up and down the network stack

A WebRTC Video Chat Implementation Within the Yioop Search Engine

Web real-time communication (abbreviated as WebRTC) is one of the latest Web application technologies that allows voice, video, and data to work collectively in a browser without a need for third-party plugins or proprietary software installation. When two browsers from different locations communicate with each other, they must know how to locate each other, bypass security and firewall protections, and transmit all multimedia communications in real time. This project not only illustrates how WebRTC technology works but also walks through a real example of video chat-style application. The application communicates between two remote users using WebSocket and the data encryption algorithm specified in WebRTC technology. This project concludes with a description of the WebRTC video chat application’s implementation in Yioop.com, a PHP-based internet search engine

Using the Java Media Framework to build Adaptive Groupware Applications

Realtime audio and video conferencing has not yet been satisfactorily integrated into web-based groupware environments. Conferencing tools are at best only loosely linked to other parts of a shared working environment, and this is in part due to their implications for resource allocation and management. The Java Media Framework offers a promising means of redressing this situation. This paper describes an architecture for integrating the management of video and audio conferences into the resource allocation mechanism of an existing web-based groupware framework. The issue of adaptation is discussed and a means of initialising multimedia session parameters based on predicted QoS is described

Towards the 3D Web with Open Simulator

Continuing advances and reduced costs in computational power, graphics processors and network bandwidth have led to 3D immersive multi-user virtual worlds becoming increasingly accessible while offering an improved and engaging Quality of Experience. At the same time the functionality of the World Wide Web continues to expand alongside the computing infrastructure it runs on and pages can now routinely accommodate many forms of interactive multimedia components as standard features - streaming video for example. Inevitably there is an emerging expectation that the Web will expand further to incorporate immersive 3D environments. This is exciting because humans are well adapted to operating in 3D environments and it is challenging because existing software and skill sets are focused around competencies in 2D Web applications. Open Simulator (OpenSim) is a freely available open source tool-kit that empowers users to create and deploy their own 3D environments in the same way that anyone can create and deploy a Web site. Its characteristics can be seen as a set of references as to how the 3D Web could be instantiated. This paper describes experiments carried out with OpenSim to better understand network and system issues, and presents experience in using OpenSim to develop and deliver applications for education and cultural heritage. Evaluation is based upon observations of these applications in use and measurements of systems both in the lab and in the wild.Postprin

The Internet Ecosystem: The Potential for Discrimination

Symposium: Rough Consensus and Running Code: Integrating Engineering Principles into Internet Policy Debates, held at the University of Pennsylvania\u27s Center for Technology Innovation and Competition on May 6-7, 2010. This Article explores how the emerging Internet architecture of cloud computing, content distribution networks, private peering and data-center services can simultaneously foster a perception of unfair network access while at the same time enabling significant competition for services, content, and innovation. A key enabler of these changes is the emergence of technologies that lower the barrier for entry in developing and deploying new services. Another is the design of successful Internet applications, which already accommodate the variation in service afforded by the current Internet. Regulators should be aware of the potential for anti-competitive practices in this broader Internet Ecosystem, but should carefully consider the effects of regulation on that ecosystem