System-Level Resource Management for Network-Based Multimedia Applications

SRI International (SRI) has developed a model for system-level resource management in distributed systems, and applied this model in the context of a multimedia conferencing application. The model considers user objectives, resource constraints, and adaptable execution techniques. User objectives are specified by means of benefit functions. We have implemented a prototype of a distributed multimedia display application that demonstrates key aspects of the model, including adaptation to a changing execution environment.