A high-performance end system architecture for real-time CORBA

Many application domains (e.g., avionics, telecommunications. and multimedia) require real-time guarantees from the underlying networks, operating systems, and middleware components to achieve their quality of service (QoS) requirements. In addition to providing end-to-end QoS guarantees, applications in these domains must be flexible and reusable. Requirements for flexibility and reusability motivate the use of object-oriented middleware like the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). However, the performance of current CORBA implementations is not yet suited for hard real time systems (e.g., avionics) and constrained latency systems (e.g., teleconferencing). This article describes the architectural features and optimizations required to develop real-time ORE end systems that can deliver end-to-end QoS guarantees to applications. While some operating systems, networks, and protocols now support real-time scheduling, they do not provide integrated solutions. The main thrust of this article is that advances in real-time distributed object computing can be achieved only by systematically pinpointing performance bottlenecks; optimizing the performance of networks, ORE end systems, common services, and applications; and simultaneously integrating techniques and tools that simplify application development.