Real-Time-Component Based Software Architecture for QoS-adaptive Networked Multimedia Applications

Highly desirable types of networked multimedia applications should adapt to changes in the environmental conditions in which they operate, such as communication bandwidth, available memory, and battery lifetime, while providing the best possible quality of service (QoS). In this paper we present a software architecture that facilitates the development of adaptive networked multimedia applications which meet this requirement. The proposed software architecture is based on the Time-triggered Message-triggered Object (TMO) programming scheme and it is implemented as a thin layer on top of the TMO Support Middleware (TMOSM). The new layer, called the QoS Adaptation Support Layer (QASL), includes monitoring and runtime reconfiguration facilities that allow us to easily incorporate QoS-adaptation capabilities into TMO-based multimedia applications. In addition, we introduce a novel, practical approach for establishing the QoS configurations that guide the adaptive behavior of a networked multimedia application. A QoS configuration contains a set of parameters that specify the quality-related characteristics of the media streams which a receiver expects from a sender. We also present a strategy used in QASL for selecting, from a given set of QoS configurations, an optimal configuration by reflecting currently observed environmental conditions. Finally, the effectiveness of the QoS-adaptation mechanisms implemented in QASL is evaluated with the use of a heterogeneous network based multi-party videoconference application.