Component framework technology for adaptable and manageable protocol stacks
Sam Michiels · Lirias · 2003
The context of this dissertation and the corresponding challenges are formed by network services and their requirements to the underlying protocol stack. The relevance of this research is confirmed by three recent trends in network services and their execution environment: growing reliance of businesses and individuals on network connectivity, highly dynamic network characteristics, and a wide range of connected client device types. These three trends reveal a common challenge for protocol stack software: offering support for flexibility at design-, development-, and execution-time, tailored to application- and/or network-specific characteristics. This dissertation presents DiPS+ (Distrinet Protocol Stack+), a sophisticated software architecture and component framework to support the development of protocol stacks that are easily customizable to application- and environment specific requirements. DiPS+ has been used to address three core research tracks in protocol stack development: self-adaptability and management, testing, and framework optimization. The strength of this dissertation is that these three tracks are not addressed by individual solutions, yet share a well-defined software architecture and component framework underneath. The DiPS+ component framework does not only offer programmers support in developing protocol stacks, but also lays the foundation for a robust and lightweight development process and a balanced software lifecycle.