Intra-application communication

Jtrix manages connections between netlets on the same node, by providing service connections. Communication outside the service framework is not addressed by Jtrix. There are two options for communication between the netlets belonging to an application:

• Basic IP services

  The netlets can implement their own communications, using whatever security protocols are appropriate. Jtrix does allow the basic network facilities required for this.

• Use a communication service

  This functionality can be contracted out. The service chosen to implement the communications should provide the required security.

  Using a service can allow the communications layer to be dynamically changed for different deployments of the same application. It can also allow different applications to share the same communication system.

Inter-netlet communications involve the following processes:

• Keeping track of netlets as they are created and destroyed.
• Discovering and propagating the base layer IP addresses corresponding to each netlet.
• Securing the connections and transmitting the data.
• Detecting the failure of a netlet.

These processes may be substantially different depending on the application. The more dynamic an application, the more difficult it is to keep track of membership.