LINC: A Compact Yet Powerful Coordination Environment

International audienceThis paper presents LINC, a coordination programming environment. It is an evolution of earlier middlewares (the Coordination Language Facility (CLF) and Stitch). The aim is to provide a more flexible and expressive language correcting several of their limitations and an improved run-time environment. LINC provides a compact yet powerful coordination language and an optimised run-time which executes rules. This paper describes the intrinsic properties brought by the LINC environment and how it helps the coordination aspects in a distributed system. This paper also emphasises on the reflexivity of LINC and its usage at system level. Finally, it illustrates through several case studies, how LINC can manage a wide range of application domains

Reliable Control through Wireless Networks

submitted paperReliability is one of the biggest challenges when using Wireless Sensor-Actuator Networks in control systems. This paper exploits the transactional guarantees offered by the LINC coordination environment to provide reliability and robustness in wireless control systems. First, LINC transactions were embedded in the mirco-controllers to deal with possible communication errors, faulty devices, and concurrent access to the devices. Then, an active replication mechanism was provided so that the system can be correctly recovered from hardware and communication failures. A case study of a ball and plate problem is detailed. The plate is lift up and down by three motors. Each motor is controlled by a micro-controller communicating in wireless with the system controller

Design Framework for Reliable and Environment Aware Management of Smart Environment Devices

International audienceA smart environment is equipped with numerous devices (i.e., sensors, actuators) that are possibly distributed over different locations (e.g., rooms of a smart building). These devices are automatically controlled to achieve different objectives related, for instance, to comfort, security and energy savings. Controlling smart environment devices is not an easy task. This is due to: the heterogeneity of devices, the inconsistencies that can result from communication errors or devices failure, and the conflicting decisions including those caused by environment dependencies. This paper proposes a design framework for the reliable and environment aware management of smart environment devices. The framework is based on the combination of the rule based middleware LINC and the automata based language Heptagon/BZR (H/BZR). It consists of: an abstraction layer for the heterogeneity of devices, a transactional execution mechanism to avoid inconsistencies and a controller that, based on a generic model of the environment, makes appropriate decisions and avoids conflicts. A case study with concrete devices, in the field of building automation, is presented to illustrate the framework

Combining Transactional and Behavioural Reliability in Adaptive Middleware

International audienceAdaptive systems behaviours can be intuitively programmed, using rule based middleware, as a set of rules. The rules verify conditions and perform actions in order to achieve a set of objectives. However, this raises several problems. First, inconsistencies may result from the fact that an action is not actually performed due to a communication error or a hardware failure. Second, the rules may be conflicting and their sequential chaining may lead to undesirable behaviour. This paper proposes an approach that combines transactional and behavioural reliability (i.e. consistency and no conflict) in adaptive middleware. This approach is implemented using the middleware LINC and the automata based language Heptagon/BZR. A case study, in the field of building automation, is presented to illustrate the approach

Modular and Hierarchical Discrete Control for Applications and Middleware Deployment in IoT and Smart Buildings

International audienceIn the Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Homes and Buildings, sensors and actuators are controlled through a management software, that runs on a distributed network of heterogeneous processors. Such management systems have to be self-adaptive w.r.t. different aspects, at applications level (functionalities) as well as deployment level (software tasks, execution platform). Holding a well-mastered and safe behaviour of the overall system, in presence of these concurrent adaptations, is a complex control problem. We approach this problem by applying techniques from the area of Supervisory Control for Discrete Event Systems (DES), where the space of configurations at the different levels are modeled with automata. We use programming language support tools, Heptagon/BZR and ReaX, to build up a design environment for the considered application domain. This paper contributes with (i) generic behavioural models for both the applicative and deployment aspects of systems; (ii) applications of Discrete Controller Synthesis (DCS) to design controllers, especially modular and hierarchical control structures; (iii) an implemented case study

Rapid prototyping of complete systems, the case study of a smart parking

International audienceThis paper details how LINC a coordination middle-ware, can fasten the development of prototypes that integrate several equipment. A case study of rapid prototyping is presented. It illustrates how a smart parking prototype has been built from several independent and autonomous equipment, coming from different vendors. This has been achieved by parallel development thanks to the resource based approach offered by LINC. This paper also describes how LINC helps building rich user interfaces quickly and easily. I. INTRODUCTION Embedded systems have been part of our daily life for decades. Most of the industrial or consumer products embed multiple processors, sensors and actuators. The next step is the opportunity to build new products, systems, and usages, combining together several of these products. In such innovative and quickly evolving context it is necessary to build prototypes to test, validate, and challenge new products usages or solutions. This paper considers prototypes including several equipment, possibly from different vendors. Such prototypes can be used to exhibit demonstrations in a trade fair, to convince investors of the viability of an idea or to verify the adequacy of the solutions for early adopters. To succeed in today's highly competitive market, a prototype should be more than a few items wired together with a command line interface. Targeted prototypes are real-life demonstrations of new products or technologies with a high end-user experience. Moreover, a prototype should be included in its targeted environment (e.g. a house, a building or a parking). The development of prototypes is vital during the validation stage of new products as they may help to

Architecture de gestion et de contrôle des ressources pour les applications multimédia dans le réseau local domestique

The home network is an open, heterogeneous and distributed environment where ensuring multimedia applications' quality of service is a main concern. Mechanisms to reserve resources (CPU, memory, network) and architectures using them already exist. However, they require modifying the devices or the applications and they do not take into account the heterogeneity of the home network. To tackle the heterogeneity related issues, this work limits the number of measurements to make and to store by aggregating the quantities of resources. This aggregation is automated using clustering or bin-packing algorithms. Then a non-intrusive resource management framework is developed upon an architecture, customized for the actual devices. This architecture uses global components that delegate to local components the management of local resources. These components rely on the resource reservation mechanisms provided by the Linux operating system in order to guarantee the resources to the applications. The aggregation, which we evaluated through simulation, efficiently reduces the number of measurements to carry and to store. The framework has been implemented on real devices (PCs, laptops and embedded multimedia devices), bridged with wireless and Ethernet networks. The evaluations of the framework show that reservations are guaranteed even if noise is generated on the resources, which also guaranties the expected quality of service.Le réseau local domestique est un environnement ouvert, hétérogène et distribué pour lequel il est primordial de garantir la qualité de service des applications multimédia. Des mécanismes de réservation de ressources (CPU, mémoire, réseau) et des architectures utilisant ces mécanismes existent. Les architectures et les mécanismes existants nécessitent de modifier les équipements ou les applications et ne prennent pas en compte l'hétérogénéité inhérente au domaine d'étude. Ces solutions ne sont pas adaptées au contexte du réseau local domestique. Pour répondre au problème de l'hétérogénéité, ce travail propose de limiter le nombre de mesures à réaliser et à stocker en agrégeant les quantités de ressources. Cette agrégation est automatisée à l'aide d'algorithmes basés sur du clustering ou du bin-packing. Cette thèse propose ensuite un framework de gestion des ressources peu intrusif, reposant sur une architecture configurable en fonction des équipements présents. Cette architecture utilise des composants globaux qui délèguent, aux composants locaux, la gestion des ressources locales. Les composants locaux utilisent les mécanismes de réservation du système d'exploitation Linux pour garantir les quantités de ressources aux applications. L'agrégation évaluée par simulation, réduit efficacement le nombre de mesures à réaliser et à stocker. De son côté, le framework de gestion des ressources est mis œuvre sur des équipements réels (des PCs, des ordinateurs portables et des équipements embarqués dédiés au multimédia), communiquant via des réseaux Wifi et Ethernet. Les évaluations du framework montrent que les réservations sont garanties même quand du bruit est généré sur les ressources utilisées, ce qui garantit aussi la qualité de service attendue

Génération de règles de coordination à partir de réseaux de Pétri colorés

National audienceCet article présente un environnement de génération de règles de coordination à partir de réseaux de Petri colorés. L’environnement proposé est basé sur un langage dédié appelé cpnDSL. À partir d’une spécification cpnDSL décrivant un système donné, des règles de coordination correctes par construction et directement exécutables dans l’environement LINC sont générées. Un modèle vérifiable pour valider le comportement du système et un modèle graphique pour permettre la discussion entre les différents membres du projet sont également générés. Une étude de cas issue du domaine du transport est présentée pour illustrer l’approche proposée

Architecture de gestion et de contrôle des ressources pour les applications multimédia dans le réseau local domestique

Le réseau local domestique est un environnement ouvert, hétérogène et distribué pour lequel il est primordial de garantir la qualité de service des applications multimédia. Des mécanismes de réservation de ressources (CPU, mémoire, réseau) et des architectures utilisant ces mécanismes existent. Les architectures et les mécanismes existants nécessitent de modifier les équipements ou les applications et ne prennent pas en compte l hétérogénéité inhérente au domaine d étude. Ces solutions ne sont pas adaptées au contexte du réseau local domestique. Pour répondre au problème de l hétérogénéité, ce travail propose de limiter le nombre de mesures à réaliser et à stocker en agrégeant les quantités de ressources. Cette agrégation est automatisée à l aide d algorithmes basés sur du clustering ou du bin-packing. Cette thèse propose ensuite un framework de gestion des ressources peu intrusif, reposant sur une architecture configurable en fonction des équipements présents. Cette architecture utilise des composants globaux qui délèguent, aux composants locaux, la gestion des ressources locales. Les composants locaux utilisent les mécanismes de réservation du système d exploitation Linux pour garantir les quantités de ressources aux applications. L agrégation évaluée par simulation, réduit efficacement le nombre de mesures à réaliser et à stocker. De son côté, le framework de gestion des ressources est mis oeuvre sur des équipements réels (des PCs, des ordinateurs portables et des équipements embarqués dédiés au multimédia), communiquant via des réseaux Wifi et Ethernet. Les évaluations du framework montrent que les réservations sont garanties mme quand du bruit est généré sur les ressources utilisées, ce qui garantit aussi la qualité de service attendue.The home network is an open, heterogeneous and distributed environment where ensuring multimedia applications quality of service is a main concern. Mechanisms to reserve resources (CPU, memory, network) and architectures using them already exist. However, they require modifying the devices or the applications and they do hot take into account the heterogeneity of the home network. To tackle the heterogeneity related issues, this work limits the number of measurements to make and to store by aggregating the quantities of resources. This aggregation is automated using clustering or bin-packing algorithms. Then a non-intrusive resource management framework is developed upon an architecture, customized for the actual devices. This architecture uses global components that delegate to local components the management of local resources. These components rely on the resource reservation mechanisms provided by the Linux operating system in order to guarantee the resources to the applications. The aggregation, which we evaluated through simulation, efficiently reduces the number of measurements to carry and to store. The framework has been implemented on real devices (PCs, laptops and embedded multimedia devices), bridged with wireless and Ethernet networks. The evaluations of the framework show that reservations are guaranteed even if noise is generated on the resources, which also guaranties the expected quality of service.BREST-BU Droit-Sciences-Sports (290192103) / SudocSudocFranceF