Collaborative Research: Affinity Directed Mobility for Location Independent Data Access

目前使用各种零散的工具访问和处理信息。研究人员使用台式计算机作为我们的主要信息工具、服务器、服务器网络或ISP来提供文件系统支持、计算密集型计算和其他系统支持功能。当他们想要便携式信息工具时，他们使用笔记本电脑，笔记本电脑可能可以也可能不能访问网络。当信息需求不大，而移动需求最明显时，研究人员使用各种其他设备，如掌上电脑、个人数字助理、移动电话和寻呼机。这种情况下的软件版本管理效率低下，许可也很复杂。确保在大量计算机上安装每个所需应用程序的相同(和最新)版本可能会消耗大量系统支持人员资源，即使这些计算机可以从同一网络访问。保护信息免受未经授权的访问也同样困难。数据、应用程序和设备的这种碎片化的结果是日益复杂和难以管理的信息工具集合，这些工具彼此之间的通信效率低下。大量的时间需求、庞大的通信基础设施和高性能、低功耗的计算资源的融合向研究人员提出了探索更好的替代方案的挑战。比弗罗斯特地点独立计算项目力求提供一个灵活和全面的信息获取环境。BiFrost的功能是提供对数据的位置和设备独立访问。BiFrost中的数据既包含信息，也包含用于处理该信息的应用程序。BiFrost利用数据之间以及用户与数据之间的关联性，就何时何地移动数据做出适当的决定。该项目的核心研究问题是移动性管理(如何移动数据和线程以支持用户和设备移动性)、数据管理(如何表示、访问、更新和保护信息)以及应用程序管理(如何在各种设备上提供通用的应用程序基础)。与以前的移动数据管理方法不同，比弗罗斯特预计，在3-5年内，网络连接将成为标准，即使对于高度移动的计算设备也是如此。在这种情况下，用户如何访问远程个人数据，无论位置或计算设备，至少变得与为可能的断开进行规划一样重要。研究人员建议设计、实现、部署和评估BiFrost位置独立计算系统的两个校园原型。比弗罗斯特的设计代表了信息获取和操作的新范例。我们建议将管理信息的方式与管理访问此信息的应用程序的方式相结合。BiFrost的设计原则之一是，访问数据的能力应该在所有平台上保持一致，包括便携式计算设备。这种方法与目前大多数手持计算设备的精简操作系统、精简应用程序和有限的数据集计算模型形成了鲜明对比。除了直接参与该项目的学生获得的教育好处外，研究人员还打算以更广泛的方式为学术界做出贡献。他们将把这项研究纳入科罗拉多大学和康奈尔大学教授的操作系统和分布式系统课程。该项目的所有软件和其他研究产品都将通过万维网随时可用。

Information is currently accessed and manipulated using a variety of fragmented tools. The researchers use a desktop computer as our primary information tool, a server, network of servers, or an ISP to provide file system support, computationally intensive computing, and other system support functions. They use a notebook computer, which may or may not have network access, when they desire a portable information tool. When information needs are modest, and mobility needs most apparent, the researchers use a variety of other devices such as handheld computers, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, and pagers. Software version management in this situation is inefficient, and licensing is complex. Ensuring that the same (and latest) version of each desired application program is installed on a large number of computers can consume a significant amount of system support staff resources, even if these computers are accessible from the same network. The protection of information from unauthorized access is similarly difficult.The result of this fragmentation of data, applications, and devices is an increasingly complex and unmanageable collection of information tools that communicate with each other ineffectively. The convergence in time of substantial need, substantial communication infrastructure, and high performance, low power computing resources challenges the researchers to explore a better alternative. The Bifrost location independent computing project seeks to provide a flexible and comprehensive information access environment. The function of Bifrost is to provide location and device independent access to data. Data in Bifrost encompasses both information and the applications used to manipulate that information. Bifrost uses affinity between data, and between users and data, to make appropriate decisions about when and where to move data. We refer to this approach as affinity directed mobility.The core research issues of the project are mobility management (how we move data and threads to support user and device mobility), data management (how we represent, access, update, and protect information), and application management (how we provide a common applications base across a variety of devices). In contrast to previous approaches to mobile data management, Bifrost anticipates that in 3-5 years network connectivity will be the norm, even for highly mobile computing devices. In this situation, the problem of how users can access remote personal data, regardless of location or computing device, becomes at least as important as planning for a possible disconnection.The researchers propose to design, implement, deploy and evaluate a two-campus prototype of the Bifrost location independent computing system. The Bifrost design represents a new paradigm for information access and manipulation. We propose to integrate the way in which information is managed with the way in which the applications that access this information are managed. One of the design principles of Bifrost is that the ability to access data should be consistent across all platforms, including portable computing devices. This approach is in stark contrast to the stripped down operating system plus stripped down applications plus limited data set computing model currently associated with most hand-held computing devices.In addition to the educational benefits to the students directly involved in the project, the researchers intend that this project contribute in broader ways to the academic community. They will incorporate this research into the operating systems and distributed systems classes taught at the University of Colorado and Cornell University. All software and other research products of this project will be made readily available via the world wide web.