PC-DoS: A framework for discovery of services in pervasive computing

Pervasive computing environments allow humans to perform their day-to-day tasks without having to worry about the computing involved in performing these tasks. In order to perform user tasks pervasive computing devices should be able to make use of services and data available in the computing infrastructure. A proper service discovery technique is necessary to discover services and data flexibly and seamlessly in order to perform user tasks. Static service information models currently used in traditional computing environments are unsuitable for highly heterogeneous and dynamic pervasive computing environments. The objective of this thesis is to design a basic framework for service discovery in pervasive environments. In particular, the proposed service discovery mechanism is based on the community-computing concept envisioned in Pervasive Information Community Organization (PICO).;In this thesis we describe the design and development of a framework for D&barbelow;iscovery o&barbelow;f S&barbelow;ervices in P&barbelow;ervasive C&barbelow;omputing (PC-DoS). PC-DoS aims to achieve efficient service discovery, reduced response time and scalability. PC-DoS exploits the positive features of some existing research, such as IETF's Service Location Protocol (SLP) and MIT's Intentional Naming Scheme (INS). PC-DoS employs communities of delegents (software agents) representing decentralized directories and servers that host clients and services. Delegents of PC-DoS collaborate to allow seamless anytime anywhere discovery of services despite mobility and heterogeneity. Simulation studies were carried out using the NS2 Simulator. The performance parameters of PC-DoS are compared with those of the existing models and found to be better in terms of service discovery, response time and scalability.