Integrated Network Middleware

Software communication requirements for distributed systems can be broadly categorized into three communication patterns, publish-subscribe, client-server, and state propagation. We propose to address the challenge of using these three models together in a consistent and rational manner. By enabling seamless integration of these disparate paradigms, a new level of robustness and dynamism can be achieved within distributed systems. The result is a tremendous reduction in integration risk and cost for system integrators. Phase I proposed an initial model for state-synchronization that addressed the requirements of the Navy and identified the key challenges in integrating DDS (for publish-subscribe) and CORBA (for client-server). The work proposed herein advances the initial findings and broadens the scope of the investigation. Specifically, to address to need for an industry standard for state-synchronization, we will implement extensions to DDS that will allow robust and efficient state propagation. The proposed model will be designed so that state information can be accessed through the DDS API as well as standard data-mining languages such as SQL and OBDC. This will allow seamless interactions between real-time embedded systems and standard data management tools, further reducing the overall system integration risk and cost.