Design and Implementation of Composite Protocols
Magesh Kannan, Ed Komp, Gary J. Minden, Joseph Evans · 2003
A composite protocol is a collection of single-function components arranged in an orderly fashion to implement a network communications capability. This thesis presents a template for the design of protocol components. Components are specified in terms of finite state machines, memory objects used and formal properties provided to packets. The linear stacking approach is used as the composition technique to build composite protocols from components. The specification methodology for components has been developed to facilitate formal reasoning of logical correctness of protocols, as is the choice of the composition technique. Implementing protocols as a collection of components has other benefits: better scope for reuse, quick development of variants of protocols and customization of protocols to application requirements. Ensemble, a group communication system, has been chosen as the basis for implementing a framework for composite protocols. The Ensemble system has been adapted for the purposes of a general protocol framework and a state machine executor has been implemented. The functional components of IP and UDP have