Mobile management of network files

Common opinion holds that a precise definition of the concept of middleware is elusive because it is highly dependent on one's design perspective regarding application environments and system architectures. The approach to the mobile management of network files discussed in this paper, which involves issues of process mobility and architecture/OS independent execution, represents one such a perspective. Our previous work in the area of logistical networking has focused on the Internet Backplane Protocol (IBP), a technology for shared network storage that can scale in terms of the size of the user community, the aggregate quantity of storage that can be allocated, and the breadth of distribution of service nodes across network borders. To achieve this end we have followed a layered, bottom-up design philosophy that draws on the engineering principles well known from the design of the Multics operating system, RISC microprocessors, and most especially the Internet protocol stack. In this paper we introduce the exNode, a data structure intended to provide the basis for reliable and efficient implementation of a file abstraction on top of the primitive storage service defined by IBP and discuss its application in network-based file management.