David Alan Braun

Peer-to-peer streaming for networked consumer electronics [Peer-to-Peer Multimedia Streaming]

Applications such as multimedia communications and entertainment make media streaming a key feature for peer-to-peer (P2P) technology embedded in networked consumer electronics. In this article, we discuss some key issues that are relevant to enabling peer-to-peer streaming in networked consumer electronics and address possible technical solutions to the issues of interoperability, NAT/firewall traversal, and codec inflexibility. We also address how to improve overall system performance by introducing a notion of node coordinates into the discovery of services on a P2P network and confirm the effectiveness of our approach using simulation. We conclude with a discussion of our prototype CE-oriented P2P streaming system.

An inexpensive, scalable, and open-architecture media server

An inexpensive scalable architecture for a multimedia server is presented. A detailed view of its software and hardware components is explained, as well as its performance. Results indicate linear scalability of the system in terms of server bandwidth with respect to the number of basic server elements. Since the server is composed of readily available inexpensive components, a variety of server capacities can be constructed at low incremental cost.

Applicability of low water-mark mandatory access control security in Linux-based advanced networked consumer electronics

Linux is an open source operating system that is rapidly gaining popularity in consumer electronic devices, especially in digital audio and video devices. However, with its success in the market, there is a greater need for security. We present a Trojan attack scenario that compromises the security of a Linux-based networked appliance. Then, we demonstrate how a simple low water-mark mandatory access control (LOMAC) module can protect the system against such attacks. However, LOMAC implements this access control by interposition at the kernels system call interface and uses implicit attribute mapping to map security attributes to files, which is invasive. We present a LOMAC implementation as a Linux security module (LSM), a new framework for providing standard interfaces to loadable security modules for the Linux kernel.

IP address configuration algorithms for routerless and single-router zeroconf networks

IP hosts and network infrastructure have historically been difficult to configure, requiring network services such as DHCP and DNS servers, and relying on highly trained network administrators. This need for administration has prevented IP networks from being used in many environments such as in homes, in small businesses, in impromptu networks established at conferences, construction sites, emergency relief stations, etc. With the proliferation of IP-enabled network-attached appliances and inexpensive computing devices, the demand to enable plug-and-play, easy-to-use IP networking has increased. This demand has initiated a new paradigm of IP networking called zero configuration, or zeroconf, networking. The goal is to develop a set of zeroconf configuration protocols to enable IP networking without manual configuration or administration. Such IP networks are called zeroconf networks. We examine IP address configuration in zeroconf networks involving two network topologies: (1) A routerless network, which consists of several hosts attached to a segment having no router, (2) A single-router network, which consists of a router joining several segments together into a star-shaped topology. We suggest the requirements for IP address configuration, review the existing solutions, and propose new algorithms to address their deficiencies. Finally, we present a comparison of our algorithms to existing solutions and describe when a particular configuration method should be used.

An IP address configuration algorithm for multi-router zeroconf networks

Zero-configuration (zeroconf) networks are a particular class of IP networks that do not require any user administration for correct operation. IP address configuration in zeroconf networks is an important problem. While there are a few proposals for IP host configuration, a general solution for IP router configuration, an important problem in multi-router zeroconf networks, does not yet exist. In a single-router zeroconf network, the router can easily configure by creating unique IP subnets over each of its directly attached segments. But when several such self-configuring routers are interconnected together to form a multi-router network, there is a need for (1) dynamic exchange of routing information among the routers and (2) consistent assignment of IP subnets in the network, i.e., an IP subnet can not be assigned to different segments. As new routers are added to the zeroconf network, any IP subnet conflicts must be detected and resolved. No solutions for IP address auto-configuration of multi-router networks exist. This paper suggests the requirements for IP address configuration of multi-router zeroconf networks, and proposes IP host and router configuration algorithms to satisfy these requirements. Among the proposed algorithms is a novel routing algorithm designed by augmenting the basic distance vector routing algorithm that can solve both the problem of dynamic routing and consistent IP subnet assignment in multi-router zeroconf networks. We also show how the popular routing information protocol (RIP) can be augmented to implement the proposed routing algorithm, called the zeroconf routing information protocol (ZRIP).