Jini Meets UPnP: An Architecture for Jini/UPnP Interoperability

          J. Allard, V. Chinta, S. Gundala, G. G. Richard III
                    Department of Computer Science
                      University of New Orleans
                        New Orleans, LA 70148
                      Contact: golden@cs.uno.edu


Abstract

  A service discovery framework (e.g., Jini, UPnP) provides a
collection of protocols for developing dynamic client/server
applications.  These applications include not only traditional “client
speaks to a device through a device driver” scenarios, but also client
interfaces to interesting services like remote file storage and data
synchronization.  In a service discovery-enabled network, services
inserted into the network become immediately available to clients and
clients can search for needed services with little advance knowledge
of the structure of the network. 

  There are currently a number of service discovery technologies
available, including Jini, UPnP, SLP, Salutation, and Bluetooth SDP.
These have similar high-level goals, but quite different architectures.
Increasingly, there will be a need for interoperability frameworks that
allow clients and services written using different service discovery
technologies to cooperate.  This paper presents a Jini/UPnP
interoperability framework that allows Jini clients to use UPnP
services and UPnP clients to use Jini services.  Only a modest
development effort is required to support new service types.


Keywords: service discovery protocols, Jini, Universal Plug and Play,
interoperability.