Rajesh B. Khandelwal

UP2P: a peer-to-peer overlay architecture for ubiquitous communications and networking

Approaches to building an intelligent consumer-friendly network have evolved over time from centralized switch-based to router- and server-based Internet architectures. We propose to drive this evolution further with a new highly scalable architecture that provides features to users derived from the computational and networking capabilities of very large populations of sophisticated terminals. This architecture relies on emerging peer-to-peer overlay technology. We describe a peer-to-peer overlay design that addresses requirements crucial for consumer applications, including overlay federation, peer heterogeneity, peer mobility, and service discovery. In addition, we introduce the concept of an overlay operator and describe the requirements for managed overlays. We have designed and implemented both a middleware and a peer-topeer platform that illustrates these concepts.

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.

A framework supporting interaction of iDTV applications and CE devices in home network

The paper proposes a framework that extends existing interactive DTV platforms. This framework allows DTV applications to interact with consumer electronic devices in a home network in a manner which is independent of the types of devices or the underlying home networking technologies.

A policy engine for the OCAP monitor application [TV open cable application platform]

Television cable operators must be able to easily and economically customize the services and features that they deliver to their customers. At the same time, customers desire the ability to further refine access to those very same services and features. Combining a locally hosted policy engine with remotely managed policy files is one way to implement a network of highly configurable receivers. By separating policy enforcement from policy expression, an operator can easily modify the behavior of the policy engine by simply updating the appropriate policy files. We describe a policy engine-based architecture for the OCAP monitor application that provides flexibility in remote management of receivers.