Digital Commons Network^™

Routing In Overlay Multicast Networks, Sherlia Y. Shi, Jonathan S. Turner

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Multicast servises can be provided either as a basic network service or as an application-layer service. Higher level multicast implementations often provide more sophisticated features, and since they don't require network supoprt for multicast, they can provide multicast services, where no network layer support is available. Overlay multicast networks offer an intermediate option, potentially combining the flexibility and advanced features of application layer multicast with the greater efficiency of network layer multicast. Overlay multicast networks play an important role in the Internet. Indeed, since Internet Service Providers have been slow to enable IP multicast in their networks, Internet multicast is …

Evaluation Of Motion-Jpeg2000 For Video Processing, Wei Yu, Ruibiao Qiu, Jason Fritts

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The new ISO/ITU-T standard for still image coding, JPEG2000, has been shown to provide superior coding efficiency to the previous standard, JPEG. Because of the superb performance of JPEG2000, it is reasonable to argue that Motion-JPEG2000, the corresponding moving picture coding standard of JPEG2000, has equally outstanding performance. However, there has not been a sufficient performance evaluation of Motion-JPEG2000. To this end, we have studied the potential of Motion-JPEG2000 for video processing. Our experiments show that Motion-JPEG2000 provides high compression performance, strong error resilience, and good perceptual image quality. Together with a rich set of features inherited from JPEG2000, Motion-JPEG2000 …

Placing Servers For Session-Oriented Services, Sumi Choi, Yuval Shavitt

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The provisioning of dynamic forms of services is becoming the main stream of today's network. In this paper, we focus on services assisted by network servers and different forms of associated sessions. We identify two types of services: transparent, where the session is unaware of the server location, and configurable, where the sessions need to be configured to use their closest server. For both types we formalize the problem of optimally placing network servers and introduce approximated solutions. We present simulation result of approximations and heuristics. We also solve the location problem optimally for a special topology. We show, through …

Embedding Images In Non-Flat Spaces, Robert Pless

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Multi-dimensional scaling is an analysis tool which transforms pairwise distances between points to an embedding of points in space which are consistent with those distances. Two recent techniques in statistical patter recognition, locally linear embedding (LLE) and Isomap, give a mechanism for finding the structure underlying point sets for which comparisons or distances are only meaningful between nearby points. We give a direct method to extend the embedding algorithm to new topologies, finding the optimal embedding of points whose geodesic distance on a surface mathes the given pairwise distance measurements. Surfaces considered include spheres, cylinders, tori, and their higher dimensional …

Relationship Between Two Generalized Images For Discrete And Differential Camera Motions, Robert Pless

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The recent popularity of catadioptic and multi-camera imaging systems indicates a need to create formal models for general, non-perspective camera geometries. Development of algorithmic tools for interpreting images from a generalized camera model will lead to a better understanding of how to design camera systems for particular tasks. Here we define the corollary to epi-polar constraints for standard cameras - the relationship between two images of a scene taken by generalized cameras from viewpoints related by discrete or differential motions.

Formal Specification And Design Of Mobile Systems, Gruia-Catalin Roman, Christine Julien, Qingfeng Huang

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Termination detection, a classical problem in distributed computing, is revisited in the new setting provided by the emerging mobile computing technology. A simple solution tailored for use in ad hoc networks is employed as a vehicle for demonstrating the applicability of formal requirements and design strategies to the new field of mobile computing. The approach is based on well understood techniquest in specification refinement, but the methodology is tailored to mobile applications and helps designers address novel concerns such as the mobility of hosts, transient interactions, and specific coordination constructs. The proof logic and programming notation of Mobile UNITY provide …

Parbit: A Tool To Transform Bitfiles To Implement Partial Reconfiguration Of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (Fpgas), Edson L. Horta, John W. Lockwood

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) can be partially reconfigured to implement Dynamically loadable Hardware Plugin (DHP) modules. A tool called PARBIT has been developed that transforms FPGA configuration bitfiles to enable DHP modules. With this tool it is possible to define a partial reconfigurable area inside the FPGA and download it into a specified region of the FPGA device. One or more DHPs, with different sizes can be implemented using PARBIT.

The Smart Port Card: An Embedded Unix Processor Architecture For Network Management And Active Networking, John D. Dehart, William D. Richard, Edward W. Spitznagel, David E. Taylor

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This paper describes the architecture of the Smart Port Card (SPC) designed for use with the Washington University Gigabit Switch. The SPC uses an embedded Intel Pentium processor running open-source NetBSD to support network management and active networking applications. The SPC physically connects between a switch port and a normal link adapter, allowing cell streams to be processed as they enter or leave the switch. In addition to the hardware architecture, this paper describes current and future applications for the SPC.

Synthesizable Design Of A Multi-Module Memory Controller, Sarang Dharmapurikar, John W. Lockwood

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Random Access Memory (RAM) is a common resources needed by networking hardware modules. Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM) provides a cost effective solution for such data storage. As the packet processing speeds in the hardware increase memory throughput can be a bottleneck to achieve overall high performance. Typically there are multiple hardware modules which perform different operations on the packet payload and hence all try to access the common packet buffer simultaneously. This gives rise to a need for a memory controller which arbitrates between the memory requests made by different modules and maximizes the memory throughput. This paper discusses the …

Relying On Safe Distance To Ensure Consistent Group Membership In Ad Hoc Networks, Qingfeng Huang, Christine Julien, Gruia-Catalin Roman, Ali Hazemi

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The design of ad hoc mobile applications often requires the availability of a consistent view of the application state among the participating hosts. Such views are important because they simplify both the programming and verification tasks. Essential to constructing a consitent view is the ability to know what hosts are within proximity of each other, i.e., form a group in support of the particular application. In this paper we propose a protocol that allows hosts within communication range to maintain a consistent view of the group membership despite movement and frequent disconnections. The novel features of this protocol are its …

Scalable Ip Lookup For Programmable Routers, David E. Taylor, John W. Lockwood, Todd Sproull, David B. Parlour

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Continuing growth in optical link speeds places increasing demands on the performance of Internet routers, while deployment of embedded and distributed network services imposes new demands for flexibility and programmability. IP adress lookup has become a significant performance bottleneck for the highest performance routers. New commercial products utilize dedicated Content Addressable Memory (CAM) devides to achieve high lookup speeds. This paper describes an efficient, scalable lookup engine design, able to achieve high-performance with the use of a small portion of a reconfigurable logic device and a commodity Random Access Memory (RAM) device. Based on Eatherton's Tree Bitmap algorithm [1] the …

Legends As A Device For Interacting With Visualizations, Mihail E. Tudoreanu, Eileen Kraemer

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Users and developers of visualization tools must deal with the problem of specifying what information to show and how to represent it. Typically, the user's focus of interest will change over time, and the specifications must change with the user's interests. Techniques for the simple, direct, and intuitive creation and refinement of these specifications can be useful. In this paper we show how legends, a natural element of graphical displays, may be used as a direct and unobstrusive interaction device through which users may interactively specify new visualizations and animations.

Secure Multi-Party Computation Problems And Their Applications: A Review And Open Problems, Wenliang Du, Mikhail J. Atallah

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

The growth of the Internet has triggered tremendous opportunities for cooperative computation, where people are jointly conducting computation tasks based on the private inputs they each supplies. These computations could occur between mutually untrusted parties, or even between competitors. For example, customers might send to a remote database queries that contain private information; two competing financial organizations might jointly invest in a project that must satisfy both organizations' private and valuable constraints, and so on. Today, to conduct such computations, one entity must usually know the inputs from all the participants; however if nobody can be trusted enough to know …

Time-Domain Electric-Field Integral Equation With Central Finite Difference, Baek Ho Jung, Tapan Kumar Sarkar

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

In this paper, we present a new formulation using the time-domain electric-field integral equation (TD-EFIE) to obtain a transient scattering response from arbitrarily shaped conducting bodies. The time derivative of the magnetic vector potential is approximated with a central finite difference, and the scalar potential is time averaged by dividing it into two terms. This approach with an implicit method using central-difference results in accurate and stable transient scattering responses from conducting objects. Detailed mathematical steps are included, and several numerical results are presented.

Entropy Generation Method To Quantify Thermal Comfort, S. C. Boregowda, S. N. Tiwari, S. K. Chaturvedi

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The present paper presents a thermodynamic approach to assess the quality of human-thermal environment interaction and quantify thermal comfort. The approach involves development of entropy generation term by applying second law of thermodynamics to the combined human-environment system. The entropy generation term combines both human thermal physiological responses and thermal environmental variables to provide an objective measure of thermal comfort. The original concepts and definitions form the basis for establishing the mathematical relationship between thermal comfort and entropy generation term. As a result of logic and deterministic approach, an Objective Thermal Comfort Index (OTCI) is defined and established as a …

Obiwan - An Internet Protocol Router In Reconfigurable Hardware, Florian Braun, Marcel Waldvogel, John Lockwood

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The ongoing exponential increase of line speed in the Internet and combined with the uncountable requests for increased functionality of network devices presents a major challenge. These demands call for the use of reprogrammable hardware to provide the required flexible high-speed functionaltiy. The Field Programmable Port Extender (FPX) provides such an environment for development of networking components in reprogrammable hardware. We present the high-speed IP routing components in reprogrammable hardware. We present the high-speed IP routing module "OBIWAN" (Optimal Binary search IP lookup for Wide Area Networks) built on top of an IP processing framework.

Generalized Rad Module Interface Specification Of The Field-Programmable Port Extender (Fpx) Version 2.0, David E. Taylor, John W. Lockwood, Sarang Dharmapurikar

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The Field-programmable Port eXtender (FPX) provides dynamic, fast, and flexible mechanisms to process data streams at the ports of the Washington University Gigabit Switch (WUGS-20). By performing all computations in FPGA hardware, cells and packets can be processed at the full line speed of the transmission interface, currently 2.4 Gbits/sec. In order to design and implement portable hardware modules for the Reprogrammable Application Devide (RAD) on the FPX board, all modules should conform to a standard interface. This standard interface specifies how modules receive and transmit ATM cells of data flows, prevent data loss during reconfiguration, and access off-chip memory. …

Design Of Wavelength Converting Switches For Optical Burst Switching, Jeyashankher Ramamirtham, Jonathan Turner

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Optical Burst Switching (OBS) is an experimental network technology that enables the construction of very high capacity routers, using optical data paths and electronic control. In this paper, we study two designs for wavelength converting switches that are suitable for use in optical burst switching systems and evaluate their performance. Both designs use tunable lasers to implement wavelength conversion. One is strictly nonblocking design, that also requires optical crossbars. The second substitutes Wavelength Grating Routers (WGR) for the optical crossbars, reducing cost, but introducing some potential for blocking. We show how the routing problem for the WGR-based switches can be …

The Fpx Kcpsm Module: An Embedded, Reconfigurable Active Processing Module For The Field Programmable Port Extender (Fpx), Henry Fu, John W. Lockwood

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

While hardware plugins are well suited for processing data with high throughput, software plugins are well suited for implementing complex control functions. A plugin module has been implemented for the FPX that executes software on an embedded soft-core processor. By including this module in an FPX design, it is possible to implement active networking functions on the FPX using both hardware and software. The KCPSM, an 8-bit microcontroller developed by Xilinx Corp., has been embedded into an FPX module. The module includes circuits to be reprogrammed over the network and to execute new programs between the processing of data packerts. …

Performance Of Deferred Reservations In Data Networks, Samphel Norden, Jonathan Turner

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This paper studies the performance of deferred resource reservation in data networks. Conventional resource reservation protocols, such as PNNI and RSVP adopt an all-or-nothing approach, where partially acquired resources must be released if resources are not available at all links on the chosen path. During periods of high network load, this leads users to retry requests repeatedly, adding control traffic at exactly the time when the network's capacity to process that control traffic is exhausted. Deferred REServation (DRES) can significantly improve performance by reducing the overall call rejection probability, allowing more traffic to be carried, using the same resources. Call …

A Termination Detection Protocol For Use In Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Gruia-Catalin Roman, Jamie Payton

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

As computing devices become smaller and wireless networking technologies improve, the popularity of mobile computing continues to rise. In today's business world, many consider devices such as cell phones, PDAs, and laptops as essential tools. As these and other devices become increasingly independent of the wired infrastructure, new kinds of applications that assume an ad hoc network infrastructure will need to be deployed. Such a setting poses new challenges for the software developer, e.g., the lack of an established network topology, bandwidth limitations, and frequent disconnections. In this paper, we begin to explore design strategies for developing applications over ad …

Efficient Queue Management For Tcp Flows, Anshul Kantawala, Jonathan Turner

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Packets in the Internet can experience large queueing delays during busy periods. Backbone routers are generally engineered to have large buffers, in which packets may wait as long as half a second (assuming FIFO service, longer otherwise). During congestion periods, these bufferfs may stay close to full, subjecting packets to long delays, even when the intrinsic latency of the path is relatively small. This paper studies the performance improvements that can be obtained by using more sophisticated packet schedulers, than are typical of Internet routers. The results show that the large buffers found in WAN routers ocntribute only marginally to …

Scheduling Processing Resources In Programmable Routers, Prashanth Pappu, Tilman Wolf

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

To provide flexibility in deploying new protocols and services, general-purpose processing engines are being placed in the datapath of routers. Such network processors are typically simple RISC multiprocessors that perform forwarding and custom application processing of packets. The inherent unpredictability of execution time of arbitrary instruction code poses a significant challenge in providing QoS guarantees for data flows that compete for such processing resources in the network. However, we show that network processing workloads are highly regular and predictable. Using estimates of execution times of various applications on packets of given lengths, we provide a method for admission control and …

An Efficient Quality Scalable Motion-Jpeg2000 Transmission Scheme, Ruibiao Qiu, Wei Yu

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Video application over the Internet are getting increasingly popular because of the explosive growth of the Internet. However, video packets loss due to network congestions can degrade the video quality substantially. In this paper, we propose a transmission scheme for Motion-JPEG2000. It can be implemented in an active network environment efficiently. Our simulation shows that our scheme gracefully adapts to network congestion and improves the quality of video transmission in congested IP networks.

Services Provision In Ad Hoc Networks, Radu Handorean, Gruia-Catalin Roman

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The client-server model continues to dominate distributed computing with increasingly more flexible variants being deployed. Many are centered on the notion of discovering services at run time and on allowing any system component to act as a service provider. The result is a growing reliance on the service registration and discovery mechanisms. This paper addresses the issue of facilitating such service provision capabilities in the presence of (logical and physical) mobility exhibited by applications executing over ad hoc networks. The solution being discussed entailes a new kind of service model, which we were able to build as an adaption layer …

Implementation Of An Open Multi-Service Router, Fred Kuhns, John Dehart, Ralph Keller, John Lockwood, Prashanth Papu, Jyoti Parwatikar, Ed Spitznagel, David Richard, David Taylor, Jon Turner, Ken Wong

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This paper describes the design, implementation, and performance of an open, high-performance, dynamically reconfigurable Multi-Service Router (MSR) being developed at Washington University in St. Louis. This router provides an experimentation platform for research on protocols, router software, and hardware design, network management, quality of service and advanced applications. The MSR has been designed to be flexible, without sacrificing performance. It support gigabit links and uses a scalable architecture suitable for supporting hundreds or even thousands of links. The MSR's flexibility makes it an ideal platform for experimental research on dynamically extensible networks that implement higher level functions in direct support …

Using Computers In The Administration Of Primary Schools, Donncha Ó Fiannachta

Theses

This project investigates the use of computers in the administration of primary schools. A survey has been undertaken to determine current usage and future needs of schools such as training requirements.

It contains an overview of international thinking in this area and looks at aspects such as the legal issues involved in the keeping of electronic data on individuals in schools. Reference is made to the Freedom of Information Act, Data Protection Act and the Education Act.

The author has determined the type of data that is most commonly needed by primary schools in Ireland. Some of this information must …

Design And Implementation Of An Intranet-Solution Especially With Workflow Aspects, Robert Loew

Theses

An Intranet support a new or simply an easier information system for all the workers within a company using internet technology. On the one hand, employees can use Web technology and very simple tools to provide and navigate information. On the other hand, the costly and time-consuming business of installing and maintaining software on local PCs can be avoided by using Browser-based Intranet applications. Ideally, it would be possible to access all forms of information processing using one and the same Web browser. This is the aim of the Intranet Project upon which this thesis is based.

Various technologies for …

Towards Comparative Profiling Of Parallel Applications With Pperfdb, Christian Leland Hansen

Dissertations and Theses

Due to the complex nature of parallel programming, it is difficult to diagnose and solve performance related problems. Knowledge of program behavior is obtained experimentally, with repeated runs of a slightly modified version of the application or the same code in different environments. In these circumstances, comparative performance analysis can provide meaningful insights into the subtle effects of system and code changes on parallel program behavior by highlighting the difference in performance results across executions.

I have designed and implemented modules which extend the PPerfDB performance tool to allow access to existing performance data generated by several commonly used tracing …

Advances In Computer And Information Sciences: From Abacus To Holonic Agents, Tuncer Ören

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

The shift of paradigm emphasizing the importance of the ability to process knowledge rather then being knowledgeable is stressed. A taxonomy of knowledge processing tools, machines, or systems is offered. Major possibilities for future achievements that the author would like to underline are listed with emphasis on agent technology, agent-directed simulation, holonic agents, holonic-agent simulation, and contribution of system theories for cognitive abilities such as understanding, learning, adaptation, and anticipation in computerization.