Design and implementation of a generic software architecture for the management of next-generation residential services

We address the design of a generic architecture for the management of residential services. The architecture consists of components both at the customers' side as well as at the service provider's side. The key features of the architecture are service modularity, the concept of service sessions, service packaging and subscription. The architecture allows service providers and telecom operators to rapidly provide new integrated value-added services to their customers. Layer-based design ensures that the architecture is independent of the particular service and service realization technology. The architecture provides generic access session management, service session management, subscription management and billing. Its implementation is based on J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition). The various components of the architecture are discussed, together with the implementation issues.