Information Management for Dynamic Networks

The proliferation of mobile devices and the bundling of several network access technologies in a single product have increased considerably the communication environment complexity. There has been a certain drive for allowing end users to be "best- connected" anywhere, anytime, which places an additional set of stringent requirements on the already over-engineered domain of mobile computing. This rapidly increasing computational complexity is reinforced by the mounting number of wirelessly connected mobile devices and, therefore, network solutions are sought after with several self-X properties (self-configuration, - adaptation, and -management, to name a few). Such networks will require services that reliably cater the latest information aiming at simplifying and fostering autonomic decision-making. We introduce the dynamic networks information service infrastructure (DNISI), an application of the information service architecture developed in the ambient networks project. We present how DNISI supports both enhanced mobility management and context-aware communications in today's pervasive networking environments by providing the means for gathering, correlating, and managing cross-layer and cross-domain information. Finally, we explain how service platform components and end-users applications can benefit in the near-term.