ALPINE - Application Level Programmable Inter-Network Environment

Future requirements for a broadband multimedia network are likely to be very different from those of today. Three key changes are identified; rapid introduction of new services, dynamic customisation of services by clients, and minimal management overhead. Application layer active networking, perhaps the most pragmatic and immediately realisable active network proposal, is a potential solution to all three. In the management of multiservice networks project, BT and its academic partners are developing key middleware components required to support application layer active networking.