Smart Messages: A System Architecture for LargeNetworks of Embedded Systems

ABSTRACT Embedded systems greatly outnumber desktop computing systems and are witnessing rapid growth as increasing numbers of industrial, commercial and consumer devices incorporate embedded intelligence. In addition, there are emerging application classes which were hitherto not feasible, but will be enabled by the programmability and connectivity of these pervasive computing elements. The scale and fragility of these networks make traditional distributed computing models inadequate. Presented is a system architecture, Smart Messages, for computation and communication in large networks of networked embedded systems. In this model, communication is realized by sending Smart Messages in the network. These messages are comprised of code, which is executed at each hop in the path of the message, and a payload which the message carries in the network. The execution of the message at each hop determines the next hop in the path of the message, thus smart messages are responsible for their own routing. This paper details the motivation for Smart Messages, describes the smart message model and proposes a system architecture to support this model. We conjecture that smart messages provide a suitable distributed computing model for networks of embedded devices and discuss some design issues. 1