CORBA-based distributed and replicated resource repository architecture for hierarchically configurable home network

Home networks are typically ubiquitous computing networks consisting of various consumer devices and services. Although many middlewares have already been developed and used to implement partial services in home networks, none has yet emerged as a generic home network middleware architecture, as existing middlewares are designed to accommodate specific services, making them unable to cover all services or satisfy the desires of home users. Accordingly, the current paper presents a hierarchically configurable home network architecture as a generic and conceptual home network model, plus a middleware framework is proposed to realize the conceptual model. In the middleware framework, a distributed and replicated resource repository architecture is introduced to realize multi-services within a single home network platform. The proposed middleware was developed and implemented using CORBA within an IEEE1394-based home network, and its performance verified experimentally.