Attribute‐based data dissemination for Internet applications

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Malan, G. Robert^; | Jahanian, Farnam | Subramanian, Sushila

Affiliations: Department of EECS, University of Michigan, 1301 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109‐2122, USA E‐mail: {rmalan,farnam}@eecs.umich.edu | School of Information, University of Michigan, 550 East University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109‐1092, USA E‐mail: sushila@umich.edu

Note: [] Corresponding author.

Abstract: The Salamander distribution system is a wide‐area network data dissemination substrate that has been used daily for over a year by several groupware and webcasting Internet applications. Specifically, Salamander is designed to support push‐based applications using attribute‐based routing. This support provides a variety of delivery semantics ranging from collaborative group communication, used by the Upper Atmospheric Research Collaboratory (UARC) project, to basic data delivery, used by the Internet Performance Measurement and Analysis (IPMA) project. The substrate is designed to accommodate the large variation in Internet connectivity and client resources through the use of application‐specific plug‐in modules. This paper illustrates the architecture and design of the Salamander system driven by the needs of its set of current applications. The main architectural features described include: the attribute‐based data routing mechanism, persistent data queries, negotiated push‐technology, support for Application‐level Quality of Service policies, and a lightweight temporal database.

Journal: Journal of High Speed Networks, vol. 7, no. 3-4, pp. 319-337, 1998