Nodes and hosting

Any Jtrix application runs in a Jtrix environment which manages various services. We can imagine that this environment is based in a single server or PC. But this need not be the case--it could physically exist over several machines working together.

For this reason we do not refer to a Jtrix environment as a server or a PC. We call it a node. A node is one or more machines working together to provide a single environment for applications. It may be run by an individual, a department or an ISP. Regardless of whether a node is one machine or one thousand the application does not need to worry about it.

Nodes can offer services. One key service they can offer is hosting. By making use of a hosting service a Jtrix application can move from one node to another.

Figure: (a) A netlet uses a service. But the reality is that (b) the service is accessed via another netlet.