Filaments : lightweight network interfaces for embedded devices

Abstract

Filaments are low-cost interfaces for attaching devices to an Ethernet network. While most networking research pushes for faster high-end systems, the filament project targets low-end devices with the goal of making networking easy. Filaments wrap the complexity of the network into a simple and convenient package. The vast majority of device communications require only a tiny thread or filament of connectivity. Before filaments, one could either tie each device to a desktop PC or to deploy a specialized device network. Filaments allow you to leverage the same network used by desktop computers without making devices dependent on them.