The current diversity of transport services, as well as the complexity resulting from the deployment of specific transport protocols or mechanisms over the different services provided by heterogeneous networks, demand a novel design of the transport layer. Moreover, current and future applications will only be able to take advantage of the most adapted and available transport services if they are able to interact (i.e. discover, compose, deploy and adapt) efficiently with this advanced transport layer.
The work presented in this book proposes a model-driven methodology and a service-oriented approach aimed at designing the mechanisms, functions, protocols and services of the next generation transport layer.
The first part of this book presents the state of the art of transport protocols and introduces a model-driven methodology and an ontology semantic model implementation aimed at designing next generation transport protocols.
The second part presents the UML-based design of a component-based transport protocol. An extension to this protocol based on service-component and service-oriented architectures is also presented.
The third part presents various model-driven adaptive strategies aimed at managing the behavioral and structural adaptation of next generation autonomic transport protocols.
The fourth and final part presents the design of a transport layer based on component-oriented and service-oriented approaches and integrating the autonomic computing paradigm guided by the semantic dimension provided by ontologies.

Preface

General Introduction

Section I: Model-driven transport layer design

Summary: This section presents the state of the art of the large diversity of services, protocols, functions and mechanisms available at the transport layer. A methodological approach based on the model-driven architecture and adapted to the use of ontologies also presented.

Introduction

Transport Layer state of the art

Model-driven engineering.

Model-driven architecture

Ontology-driven architecture

Designing the next generation transport layer following a model-driven engineering approach.

Summary and Conclusions

Section II: Component-based and Service-oriented transport layer

Summary: In this section the design of a service-oriented and component-based architecture aimed at integrating existing and new generation of transport services is presented. An ontology-driven approach is followed in order to provide service-oriented discovery and selection of transport services based on the semantics of transport services. Likewise, transport components semantic suited for a compositional transport service is also presented.

Introduction

Architecture frameworks for communication protocols

Service-oriented paradigm

Service-oriented architecture

Service-component architecture

Designing the next generation transport layer following and component-based and service-oriented approach.

Summary and Conclusions

Section III: Adaptive transport layer

Summary: In this section an adaptive composite architecture as well as a classification of behavioral and structural adaptation strategies to be promoted at the transport layer are presented. These features are integrated within the transport layer design in order to provide the required runtime adaptation capabilities able to adapt to dynamic network environments.

Introduction

Adaptive strategies for communication protocols

Behavioral adaptation

Structural adaptation

Designing an adaptive architecture for the next generation transport layer.

Summary and Conclusions

Section IV: Autonomic transport layer

Summary: In this section the autonomic computing paradigm including the promoted architecture and the self-managing functionalities are introduced. This paradigm is integrated within the transport layer design in order to provide self-managing adaptive components based on the monitored environment conditions and guided by service user policies and an ontology knowledge base.

Introduction

Autonomic computing paradigm

Adaptive versus Autonomic

Self-managing functions and autonomic architecture

Knowledge base and policies

Designing the next generation transport layer based on the component-based, service-oriented and autonomic computing paradigms.

Summary and Conclusions

Conclusions and perspectives

Annexes