Mobile Computing in a Heterogeneous Distributed Computing Environment

A distributed computing environment (DCE) provides seamless, location-transparent computation atop heterogeneous hardware and software so that DCE resources are accessible without knowing their location. However, some technical approaches to location-transparency can be problematic for mobile computers, such as "notebooks", "laptops", etc., because certain CED technology may be intended primarily for desktop or workstation systems with relatively fixed locations. One potential problem is inflexible security mechanisms designed for fixed-location systems. Also, when a complex DCE requires decentralized administration and must be divided into multiple "clusters", other mobile computing problems can arise; such as name ambiguity where the same user name or object name could refer to different things in different parts of a large DCE. Furthermore, although portable computers are rapidly increasing in performance and capability, we cannot ignore user needs for low-cost devices with limited capabilities that may not be able to directly implement highly sophisticated DCE software. Our research will define a functional design baseline for DCE portable computing that addresses these problems. To the extent possible, our approach is independent of any particular DCE technology to maximize dual-use.