An Ontology-Based Multi-Protocol Service Discovery Framework

In a pervasive computing scenario, a fundamental functionality is the discovery of available services: in fact, the first step in the long chain bringing an user to access a service is to find it. In the literature there are a number of service discovery protocols, each of them excelling in its particular field of application, and also a number of extensions to usual discovery architectures, especially to empower their descriptive capabilities. In any case it is missing an architecture able to solve the problem of the inter-working among different service discovery approaches -typically, each service discovery protocol has its own rules, and limitations -instead to have a common architecture able to use all actual protocols in the same way. In this paper we propose a service discovery framework which addresses this problem, introducing the concept of ontology -based multi-protocol service discovery: the proposed architecture, apart to use OWL to enhance, in the same common way, all descriptive capabilities of discovery protocols, is tailored to be compatible with all discovery protocols, due to the use of an opportune interface. This architecture has been deployed and tested using the SLP and UPnP service discovery protocols, integrated with the powerful descriptive functionalities offered by OWL. This work describes the results of the design activity which is being carried out within DAIDALOS II (designing advanced network interfaces for the delivery and administration of location independent, optimised personal services), a project granted in the European 6thFramework Research Programme, within the IST (Information Society and Technology) thematic area.