Robust Interactive Services over Broadband Networks

Project Dates: From January 1996 to December 1999

Project Leader: Prof. Santosh Shrivastava

Sponsors: Nortel Ltd

 

The overall research aim is the development of effective distributed computing solutions that enable rapid provisioning of complex services. By complex service provisioning we primarily mean the ability to compose a given service out of existing ones as well as the ability to exercise dynamic control over the execution of the service. Workflow management systems are ideally suited to meeting these requirements as they can provide an execution environment where sets of inter-related tasks can be carried out and supervised. Workflows are rule based management software that direct, coordinate and monitor execution of multiple tasks arranged to form business processes. Transactional workflow systems can be built on top of available middleware technologies, and hold the promise of providing both the dependability and flexibility. The project is developing a transactional workflow system using CORBA technology. The main building block components are the ORB developed by Nortel and the Arjuna distributed transaction system that has been adapted to be OTS compliant. A prototype version of the workflow system is operational.