The Design and Performance of Dynamic and Static Configuration Mechanisms in Component Middleware for Distributed Real-Time and Embedded Systems

QoS-aware component middleware solutions have been shown to be effective in reducing the programming complexity of configuring real-time aspects, with only a small reduction in the run-time performance of those configured aspects. However, many DRE systems (1) must run on real-time platforms that lack key dynamic configuration features, (2) require stringent bounds on system initialization times, (3) have limited storage available at run-time, and yet (4) still require a full range of configuration capabilities for both functional and systemic aspects. Furthermore, there are few studies to date of the design and performance of alternative component middleware configuration mechanisms. This paper makes three contributions to research on QoSaware component middleware for DRE systems. First, it describes the design of static component configuration mechanisms in the Component-Integrated ACE ORB (CIAO), to provide configurability while reducing run-time overhead and footprint, and to avoid features that are not supported by key real-time platforms. Second, this paper presents an empirical comparison of the performance and footprint of dynamic and static configuration mechanisms in CIAO, so that the most suitable configuration mechanisms can be selected according to the specific requirements of each DRE system. Third, it presents an empirical case study that compares CIAO’s static configuration mechanisms to the static configuration mechanisms in PRISM, an avionics domain-specific component middleware solution developed by Boeing.