Number : WUCSE-2004-2 2004-01-23 A Component Deployment Mechanism Supporting Service Oriented Computing in Ad Hoc Networks

Ad hoc networks are dynamic, open environments that exhibit decoupled computing due to frequent disconnections and transient interactions. Reliable deployment of components in such demanding settings requires a different design approach for the mechanisms that perform these functions. Not only do the deployment mechanisms have to perform the traditional tasks of deploying, installing, integrating and activating components, they must also be robust enough to handle the nuances of an ad hoc network. This paper proposes a mechanism for component deployment that is adapted for use in ad hoc networks, and, as such, can cope with the effects of disconnection and transient connectivity. We present the general architecture for the mechanism and follow it with a discussion of a Java-based implementation of the model.