Title :
A flexible middleware for multimedia communication: design, implementation, and experience
Author :
Stiller, Burkhard ; Class, Christina ; Waldvogel, Marcel ; Caronni, Germano ; Bauer, Daniel
Author_Institution :
Lab. of Comput. Eng. & Networks, Swiss Fed. Inst. of Technol., Zurich, Switzerland
fDate :
9/1/1999 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Distributed multimedia applications require a variety of communication services. These services and different application requirements have to be provided and supported within: (1) end-systems in an efficient and integrated manner, combining the precise specification of quality-of-service (QoS) requirements, application interfaces, multicast support, and security features and (2) the network. The Da CaPo++ system presented in this paper provides an efficient end-system middleware for multimedia applications, capable of handling various types of applications in a modular fashion. Application needs and communication demands are specified by values in terms of QoS attributes and functional properties, such as encryption requirements or multicast support. Da CaPo++ automatically configures suitable communication protocols, provides for an efficient runtime support, and offers an easy-to-use, object-oriented application programming interface. While its applicability to real-life applications was shown by prototype implementations, performance evaluations have been carried out yielding practical experiences and numerical results
Keywords :
application program interfaces; client-server systems; cryptography; multicast communication; multimedia communication; object-oriented methods; protocols; quality of service; videotelephony; Da CaPo++ system; QoS; communication protocols; communication services; distributed multimedia applications; efficient runtime support; encryption requirements; end-system middleware; flexible middleware; multicast support; multimedia communication; object-oriented application programming interface; performance evaluations; picture phone; quality-of-service; real-life applications; security features; Automatic programming; Communication system security; Cryptography; Middleware; Multimedia communication; Multimedia systems; Object oriented programming; Prototypes; Quality of service; Runtime;
Journal_Title :
Selected Areas in Communications, IEEE Journal on
