MarconiNet : Next-Generation Internet Radio Network
Opportunities for Undergraduate and Masters Students
This year, the Marconi International Fellowship Foundation has moved to
Columbia University.
In celebration of this event and the spirit of Guglielmo
Marconi and his contributions, we have initiated a project whose goal is
to create a scalable infrastructure for a future Internet (IP) based radio
network.
The MarconiNet project will expand on the Internet
Radio Antenna Service (IRAS) project offered during the Spring '98
Computer Networks course. In the MarconiNet architecture, Armstrong stations
register with a local Pupin server (antenna) to publish their program schedules
and to make their broadcasts available to other Pupin servers. Besides
potential broadcasters, Armstrong stations are radio receivers that connect
to their local Pupin servers to obtain broadcast schedule information,
which is presented as a hierarchy that may be based on country of origin
and subject classifications. The MarconiNet architecture is scalable in
the number of Armstrong stations and broadcast channels. One of the goals
of the project is to enable every user to become a broadcaster for a potentially
global audience. The service will provide streaming support for all popular
encoding techniques.
We offer an opportunity for knowledgeable, enthusiastic,
and responsible students (undergraduate or masters) to join our project
during Summer '98 for course credit. Participation will help to strengthen
your knowledge of network programming, Internet protocols, and multimedia
systems. More importantly, you will have a unique opportunity to be part
in the early development of an important new Internet application with
tremendous impact potential. Join our rapidly expanding team of bright,
motivated MarconiNet members and be part of this exciting new project !
Student project currently available involve all aspects of the MarconiNet
design, including
-
Pupin Server Network : design and implementation of the Pupin multicast-capable
network;
-
Armstrong stations: design and implementation of the Armstrong stations;
-
Directory Services : design and implementation of a scalable directory
service for broadcast schedule information;
-
Streaming Media Protocols : defining a media streaming protocol that will
enable the insertion of local programming segments (e.g., local commercials);
-
Authentication and Encryption : infrastructure for secure re-distribution
of paid programming.
The contact person for joining the project is Danilo
Florissi (df@cs.columbia.edu)