Definition and implementation of a TINA based terminal architecture

Abstract

The TINA architecture promises the fast and cost effective introduction of a wide spectrum of services with advanced multimedia, multiparty and mobility features. The business model, that forms the basis of the architecture, is outlined, and the relation between the provider domain (the network) and the user domain (the terminal) is specifically worked out in this paper. The terminal architecture that has been implemented in the first phase of the VITAL project is described in detail. Within the terminal, functionality is foreseen to have an explicit access session, exploited to provide personal mobility, and a service session, during which the core service functionality is executed. During the use of the service, a Desktop Video Conferencing application, several point to point and point to multipoint connections can be dynamically added and removed. Through the concept of Session Graph, the end-user can add and remove parties in the conference call very flexibly, while the network maintains the information needed to express the control and connectivity relations between all parties involved. The need is recognised to have the possibility for terminal-network peer-to-peer negotiation at connection level.