A middleware guarantee of timing constraints and quality of service in distributed networks

Real-time systems often require data delivery in a given amount of time. If the data arrives late the system may not function as intended. Heavy traffic or a denial of service attack can quickly overwhelm a network and cause downtime for critical assets.

With current software tools, users can request quality of service through middleware platforms, but there is no way to guarantee delivery of the required quality of service.

A real-time message bus called MIDAS developed at the University of Pennsylvania uses Software Defined Networking (SDN) protocols to automatically configure the network and deliver real-time guarantees of quality of service. This tool ensures that latency and quality requirements for critical network functions are maintained. The user can specify maximum end-to-end bounds for latency which are enforced by the middleware tool.

The OpenFlow protocol, compatible with most consumer networking equipment, is used to communicate with networked assets. When a new asset comes online its requirements are checked against the network configuration and the other network priorities. If the new request can be added without violating other quality of service requirements, that new configuration is committed to the network, otherwise the request is denied. This prevents overload and allows quality of service to be guaranteed across a network.

•  Guaranteed latency and quality of service
•  Avoids network overload caused by heavy traffic or DoS attacks
• Automates functions that would normally require the attention of a network administrator