Design and implementation of a generalized device interconnect

Abstract

Pervasive computing devices that communicate with each other are changing the way services are provided and utilized over a network. This thesis explores a new paradigm in establishing network connections between devices, where these devices are no longer divided into server and client, but are instead peers of each other. In this new paradigm, the flow of data is determined by third party agents, rather than by the communicating nodes. This paper describes the implementation of this network design, dubbed the Communication Oriented Routing Environment (CORE), as well as three applications of CORE that demonstrate its strengths and limitations. In summary, though successful, results with CORE indicate that the peer connection paradigm will require a reworking of current applications and design strategies in order to accommodate requirements such as authentication and client adapted data.