Network edge packet-processing systems, as are commonly implemented on network processor platforms, are increasingly required to support a rich set of services. These multi-service systems are also subjected to widely varying and unpredictable traffic. Current network processor systems do not simultaneously deal well with a variety of services and fluctuating workloads. For example, current methods of worst-case, static provisioning can meet performance requirements for any workload, but provisioning each service for its worst case reduces the total number of services that can be supported. Alternately, profiledriven automatic-partitioning compilers create efficient binaries for multi-service applications for specific workloads but they are sensitive to workload fluctuations. Run-time adaptation is a potential solution to this problem. With run-time adaptation, the mapping of services to system resources can be dynamically adjusted based on the workload. We have implemented an adaptive system that automatically changes the mapping of services to processors, and handles migration of services between different processor core types to match the current workload. In this paper we explain our adaptive system built on the Intel ® IXP2400 network processor. We demonstrate that it outperforms multiple different profile-driven compiled solutions for most workloads and performs within 20% of the optimal compiled solution for the remaining workloads.

Nearly all programmable commercial hardware solutions offered for high-speed networking systems are capable of meeting the performance and flexibility requirements of equipment vendors. However, the primary obstacle to adoption lies with the software architectures and programming environments supported by these systems. Shortcomings include use of unfamiliar languages and libraries, portability and backwards compatibility, vendor lock-in, design and development learning curve, availability of competent developers, and a small existing base of software. Another key shortcoming of previous architectures is that either they are not multi-core oriented or they expose all the hardware details, making it very hard for programmers to deal with. In this paper, we present a practical software architecture for high-speed embedded systems that is portable, easy to learn and use, multicore oriented, and efficient.

In this paper a novel approach is implemented for learning of IT related courses for visually impaired through elearning which provides a facility for anyone to learn from anywhere at anytime. It enables visually impaired students to learn the knowledge by accessing the e-content and work more independently with ease of access compared to traditional methods. At present most of eLearning websites are providing the content mostly useful for normal students. Using screen readers, learning of the content from these websites are cumbersome for visual impaired. A survey has been carried out on a batch of visually impaired students to explore existing eLearning concepts and tools in IT related courses. This work is mostly focused on the issue of web accessibility and to facilitate effective access of content and learning to the visually-impaired students. The methodology used in this paper is validated by visually-impaired students and experts and yielded good results. It is also tested for portability of using with various modes of access such as personal computers, Tablets and Mobile phones.

Collaborative engineering involves multiple engineers and managers working together to develop engineering products. As engineering problems become more and more complex, such as the development of a modern automobile, new technologies are demanded to maintain both effectiveness and efficiency of collaborative engineering. While process models and technologies have been developed to support engineering team work, most of the support remains at project management level. Our research proposes a process-driven and agent-based framework, called ActivePROCESS, to support collaborative engineering. ActivePROCESS is composed of a process model APM that captures both high level and low level activity dependencies, and an agent network that monitors process execution and facilitates coordination among engineers. One important feature of this framework is that the agents can capture emergent dependencies between activities dynamically and provides guidance for coordination by managing and applying the dependencies. In this paper, we first present our process-driven approach to collaborative engineering, and then describe the process model APM and the ActivePROCESS prototype system being developed. We will also describe a case example and discuss several issues experienced from the case study.

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