An overlay network for integration of WSNs in federated stream-processing environments

This paper presents an approach for seamless integration of hosts in heterogeneous networks in the context of data-stream processing. The integration of multiple heterogeneous hosts from the sensor-node level up to the level of high-performance workstations is one of the most promising concepts for extensive and efficient analysis of streaming data. For controlling such a network, communication between hosts is needed, e.g., to initiate stream processing, to configure queries, and to transmit streams. One of the key challenges is global addressing and transparent yet efficient data exchange despite diverse, differently capable networks involved. For this purpose, we developed a cross-platform overlay network that enables transparent communication between autonomous stream-processing systems on different hosts in miscellaneous networks for both data streams and control commands. The system directly uses underlying native protocols within each network so that the most efficient communication method is applied. Furthermore, global addressing of instances of stream-processing systems and routing over the individual communication paths is provided.