Supporting Mobile Objects

in CORBA

EC/ACTS CLIMATE Cluster

http://www.fokus.gmd.de/cc/ima/climate

Kimmo Raatikainen
University of Helsinki
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 Presentation Outline
What is CLIMATE
Why Mobile Objects (Agents)
Requirements for CORBA
A Possible Solution
How to proceed

2
 CLIMATE
CLIMATE is a Cluster of Agent Technology
related projects
14 Core projects from the ACTS programme
10 associated projects from ESPRIT and
EURESCOM programmes
CLIMATE has been constituted at the 9th
ACTS Concertation Meeting in February
1998
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 CLIMATE Mission - 1
Promotion of information exchange and co-
operation between projects
Harmonisation of work --> flexible
common agent middleware
Collaboration with other agent projects,
particularly ESPRIT and EURESCOM
projects

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 CLIMATE Mission - 2
Promotion of project results towards the
outside world (i.e. standard bodies, fora,
industry, etc.) adopting an integrated view
across all projects
Links to ESPRIT (AgentLink) and
EURESCOM have been established
Liason with OMG and FIPA to be
established
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 Agent Framework in CLIMATE
B-IN UMTS Subscr.& Connect./ Virtual Video
Application Services VHE Acctount. Admission Enterprises Analysis
Areas Mgt Control EC

Agent Facilities Agent Creation Agent Management

??
& Tools

Wrappers MASIF FIPA

AgentPlatform ACL Security
Components

Legacy Platform
INAP MAP CMIP SNMP MHEG
Resources IIOP RMI

Transport SS7 ATM GSM

Internet ISDN
Resources

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 CLIMATE Structure
EURESCOM Standards Bodies Existing ACTS
Agent Projects IN, TMN, Mobility Projects and Clusters

ACTS Domain 5 Agent Cluster

Comms. End-to-End
IN &
Management Agent Systems
Mobility
MIAMI
AMASE FACTS OCEANS
CAMELEON MARINER ABROSE
MARINE IMPACT DICEMAN
MARINER MONTAGE MODEST
MONTAGE OSM plus
SCARAB
Agent Platforms
MIAMI & FACTS plus all other projects

OMG Guidelines FIPA

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 Mobile Objects/Agents for
Telecommunications - 1
MAs provide new opportunities for service
control & management
reduction of traffic load and availability
requirements of the underlying networks
and systems
via the autonomy and asynchronous operations
of the agents

8
 Mobile Objects/Agents for
Telecommunications - 2
reduction of customer intelligence required
during installation, operation and
maintenance of resources
via the intelligence and autonomy of the agents

9
 Mobile Objects/Agents for
Telecommunications - 3
enable on demand provision of
customised services
via dynamic agent downloading from the
provider system to the customer system and
further on back to the provider system or
directly to the resources

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 Mobile Objects/Agents for
Telecommunications - 4
enable more decentralised realisation of
service control and management software
by means of bringing the control or
management agent as close as possible to the
resource(s)

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 Integration of DOC and MA
Region Region

Place Place Agency

Place Agency
Resources
Resources

Resources Resources
Resources

Communication Channel (ORB)

User Non Agent-based

Human User Application Agent-based Service Service 12
 MASIF conform MA Platform
MASIF Core Services Telecom
Accounting
Realization Place
Execution Communicat. Service

Transport Security
MAF MAF
Finder AgentSystem Management Naming

Enhanced
Services
IN TMN
Bridge Bridge
Agency

Agent Management

INAP CMIP

Agent
Agent Creation Agent Testing Envi. Management NetworkNodes13
Envi.
 Summary - 1
Mobile agent technology offers new opportunities
for telecommnications in respect to flexible
service provision
Integrated platform approach combines
client/server paradigm and mobile agent
technology
Emerging CORBA-based mobile agent platforms
are appearing for telecommunication applications

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 Summary - 2
MA-Based telecom environment is based on
Agencies within network elements, enabling
dynamic and better distribution of service agents
Intelligence on demand to the switch --> Active
Networks
Many research projects within ACTS and
EURESCOM look at this

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 A Possible Solution
Reuse of Existing CORBA Services
Mobile Object Type
Interaction Scenario
Proposed CORBA Extensions
Migration Service

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 Reuse of CORBA Services
These CORBA Services are considered:
Life Cycle Service
Externalization Service
Naming Service
Objects by Value Service

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 Mobile Object Type
Forms a unit of computational
community.
Provides multiple CORBA
Mobile Object
interfaces.
St reamable Service

Inherits at least the Provision

LifeCycleObject, Streamable
and a service provision LifeCycle
Object
interface.
An implementation of this type
has the ability to move.

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Structure of Mobile Object

CORBA View Native Interface

Bridge CORE Object

Object

Object Implementation
CORBA Interface
Native Programming View

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 CORE Object Type
Core Object Type
Contain the state and local interfaces.
Represent the object implementation.
Not register with the ORB, no IDL
specification.
State and code must be transferred.

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 Bridge Object Type
Bridge Object Type
Visible to the ORB.
Map CORBA operations onto local methods.
Only code must be transferred.
Is flexible to link the core object to another
communication protocol, e.g. Java RMI or plain
Socket.
Life cycle is controlled by the core object.
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 CORBA Environment
Basic steps to support object mobility
Externalize objects state and retrieve the
corresponding code.
Pack state and code into a package (stream)
Transfer the package to the new location.
Reinstate the object by internalizing the state at
the new location.
Remove the object at the old location.
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 Interaction Scenario
Create a Mobile Object.
Remove a Mobile Object.
Move a Mobile Object.

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Create a Mobile Object
Factory
Finder
FF

(2) (4)
Factory Mobile
(3)
Object
F
Client
Naming (5)
(1)
Service
NC NC

Here Somewhere There

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Remove a Mobile Object

LCO
(2) Mobile
Client
Object

(1)

Naming (3)
Service
NC NC

Here Somewhere There

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 Move a Mobile Object
Client Factory
(2) (8)
Finder
FF
(1) (9)
(15)
LCO F
LCO
Mobile SB (7) (10) Mobile
(6) Factory Object
Object
(5)
LCO
(3)

S SIO
Stream S (11)
Factory (4) Stream (12)
SF SIO (13)

Naming NC (14)
Service

Here Somewhere There

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 Proposed CORBA Extensions
Enhancement of the Externalization Service
StreamIO interface shall be extended with two
additional operations:
read_stream() and write_stream().
New CORBA Service
Migration Service handles the entire migration
process.

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 Migration Service
Client

(1) FF
Factory
Finder

Naming
Service
NC (13) (8)
(14)
LCO MG
(2) Migration MG Migration F
Mobile (6) (9)
Object Service Service Factory
(3)
(Source ) (Destination)
SB
(5) (7) (10)
(11)
SIO SIO SB

(4) Mobile
StreamIO StreamIO (12) Object
SIO SIO

Here Somewhere There

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 Conclusions
An initial model has been introduced.
The objective was to
sketch the required steps to support object
mobility.
identify the involved CORBA services.
specify the structure of a mobile object and its
interfaces.
Provide a basis for discussion.
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 Future Work - 1
The model still needs work to be inline with
the latest CORBA developments.
Objects by Value
transfer of objects, i.e the state and code.
Portable Object Adapter
synchronization of the creation and deletion of
mobile objects at the old and new location.
automation of forwarding object references.

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 Future Work - 2
Relationship Service
Detection of the object relationship and the
corresponding codes.
Security Service
Since foreign codes are transferred, an integration of
this service into the model is unavoidable.
Further analysis of the object structure is
required.

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 Questions

Is Migration Service something

that OMG should specify?
If yes, is an RFP in August
appropriate?

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