PicOS & VNETI - Enabling Real Life Layer-less WSN Applications
Nicholas M. Boers, Ioanis Nikolaidis, Paweł Gburzyński, W. Olesinski · 2012
Networks are traditionally built around a stack of layers, but in the simple devices of a wireless sensor network, the costs associated with this approach become significant. In r esponse, researchers have developed a number of lowfootprint operating systems that take non-traditional app roaches to network abstractions, but at the same time, still simplify software development. In these approaches, some elements of modularity are valuable to retain, e.g., packet buffer management, which can be factored out of the layers and supported by a generic interface. In this paper, we describe the PicOS operating system with its versatile network interface (VNETI) and describe our experience using it. VNETI’s approach to the problem, where it acts as a mediat or between (a) the application programming interface (API), (b) protocol plug-ins, and (c) a physical input/output (I/O) module, allows for an intuitive component-based design with low overheads. With our essentially layer-less approach to networking, we have found it intuitive to incorporate even the simplest devices into non-trivial net works.