Amit Somani

YouServ: a web-hosting and content sharing tool for the masses

YouServ is a system that allows its users to pool existing desktop computing resources for high availability web hosting and file sharing. By exploiting standard web and internet protocols (e.g. HTTP and DNS), YouServ does not require those who access YouServ-published content to install special purpose software. Because it requires minimal server-side resources and administration, YouServ can be provided at a very low cost. We describe the design, implementation, and a successful intranet deployment of the YouServ system, and compare it with several alternatives.

Bringing together content and data management systems: Challenges and opportunities

With advances in computing and communication technologies in recent years, two significant trends have emerged in terms of information management: heterogeneity and distribution. Heterogeneity (herein discussed in terms of different types of data, not in terms of schematic heterogeneity) pertains to information use evolving from operational business data (e.g., accounting, payroll, and inventory) to digital assets, communications, and content (e.g., documents, intellectual property, rich media, e-mail, and Web data). Information has also become widely distributed, both in scale and ownership. To manage heterogeneity, two major classes of systems have evolved: database management systems to manage structured data, and content management systems to manage document and rich media information. In this paper, we compare and contrast these different paradigms. We believe it is imperative for any business to exploit value from all information--independent of where it resides or its form. We also identify the technical challenges and opportunities for bringing these different paradigms closer together.