HiPeX are
researching projects concerning component-based operating systems, extensible and
adaptable systems, high performance database architectures and mobile system projects. One
member of HiPeX authored a free version of Java, Kaffe which won the
1998 JavaWorld Editor's Choice Award
for Best Java Virtual Machine.
HiPeX have worked on the EPSRC funded Kendra project looking at adaptive
internet data delivery for entertainment data. This system is unique in that it adapts its
delivery protocols to match that of the current distributed environment aiming to maintain
the range of agreed Quality of Service. Therefore if the system detects a deterioration in
network performance it can reduce the quality of service so that the delivery can remain
constant. This project uses Regis
to build the distributed data delivery mechanism. This mechanism uses application
knowledge in the form of Metadata to adapt the delivery of a particular object. By
monitoring data usage in the application the system is able to carry out adaptive data
prefetch policies and intelligent caching. The policies have been designed as a result of
studying the application area and measuring the numbers and volumes of data requests. A
simulation of the caching and prefetching policies is being tested using Simjava to
ascertain which policies work with which application characteristics. Simjava has been
very useful in providing quick experimental results to be fed into the Kendra Prototype.
Our industrial partners for this project are Cerbernet.
HiPeX has successfully designed, and are now working on the
implementation of a component-based extensible operating system;G0!. We have also designed
and implemented a component OS resource manager called Magnet. Component Operating systems aim to
provide higher performance and component reuse for general computing environments and have
proved to be particularly useful as an operating system for mobile computing. Further, an
added benefit has been that it has the potiential to provide 24X7 processing.
More recently, we have been looking at how component based architectures
can contribute to mobile computing in terms of resource location and mobile data
processing and improvement in web server technology.
