Conductor: a framework for distributed adaptation

Abstract

Most network applications provide poor service when the network's capabilities are below a minimum level assumed by the developer. As a wider array of network technologies become available, users will be increasingly frustrated with a lack of flexibility in such applications. The services provided by an application should be tunable to a level appropriate for the capabilities and associated costs of the underlying network. Other researchers have shown that proxy agents can tailor the communication pattern of an application to the characteristics of a network. Dynamic deployment of multiple adapting agents at various points in a network can extend these benefits. Conductor demonstrates an approach toward selecting an appropriate set of adaptive agents and a plan for their deployment. Conductor further allows arbitrary adaptations to be performed along the data path without reducing the reliability of the overall system.