Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
3rd Tier:
InfoStations Centre
(with Profile Managers and Global Services' Content
Repository)
2nd Tier:
InfoStations
(with cached copies of recently used user/service
profiles, and Local Services' Content Repository)
1st Tier:
Mobile Devices
(with Intelligent Agents acting as Personal
Assistants for mobile users)
Fig. 3. The 3-tier InfoStation-based network architecture
The second tier consists of InfoStations, satisfying the users' requests for services through
Bluetooth and/or WiFi wireless mobile connections. The InfoStations maintain
connections with mobile devices, create and manage user sessions, provide interface to
global services offered by the InfoStation Centre, and host local services. The
implementation of these local services is an important aspect of this system. By
implementing particular services within specific localised regions throughout the
University campus, we can enrich the service users experience within these localities. A
prime example of how this type of local service can enrich a learners experience, is the
deployment of library-based services [Ganchev,2008a]. Within the library domain, library
users experience can be greatly enhanced through the facilitation of services offering
resource location capabilities or indeed account notifications. The division of global and
local services allows for a reduction of the workload placed on the InfoStation Centre. In
the original InfoStation architecture, the InfoStations operated only as mediators between
the user mobile devices and a centre, on which a variety of electronic services are
deployed and executed. The InfoStations within this architecture do not only occupy the
role of mediators, they also act as the primary service providing nodes.
The third tier is the InfoStation Centre concerned with controlling the InfoStations, and
overall updating and synchronisation of information across the system. The InfoStation
Centre also acts as the host for global services.
3.2 Context-aware service provision
In order to ensure a context-aware service provision we propose that an application is built
as an integration of two components [Stoyanov,2008]:
A standardized
middleware
, which is able to detect the dynamic changes in the
environment during the processing of user requests for services
(contex-awareness
) and
correspondingly to ensure their efficient and non-problematic execution (
adaptability
);
A set of
electronic services
realizing the functionality of the application area
(education), which could be activated and controlled by the middleware.
