FLEXIBLE AND SCALABLE SOFTWARE SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FOR IMPLEMENTING MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS

• US 20140282351A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ittiam Systems Pte Ltd
• Original Assignee: Ittiam Systems Pte Ltd
• Inventors: Gupta, Puneet, Prabhakar, Sheela, Nataraj, Nitin, Iyenggar, Ashwin
• Granted Patent: US 9,026,983 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/00 Arrangements for software engineering testing or debugging G06F11/36; administrative, planning or organisation aspects of software project management G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/30 Creation or generation of source code

Abstract

A flexible and scalable software system architecture for implementing multimedia applications is disclosed. In one embodiment, the flexible and scalable software system architecture includes a platform abstraction layer (PAL), a device policy manager (DPM), a media engine, a library of commons (LoC) module, system management toolsets (SMT), one or more application services, an application control unit (ACU) and a user interface transaction layer (UITL). Further, the media engine is communicatively coupled between the PAL and the ACU, the LoC module is communicatively coupled to the ACU, the DPM, the media engine, the SMT, the PAL and the UITL, the DPM is communicatively coupled to the PAL, the ACU and the media engine, the ACU is coupled between media engine and the UITL, and the SMT is communicatively coupled to the ACU, the DPM, the media engine, the LoC module, the PAL and the UITL.

Claims

1. A flexible and scalable software system architecture for implementing multimedia applications, comprising:

a platform abstraction layer (PAL) operatively coupled to an operating system (OS) and a board support package (BSP) for ensuring platform portability and ease of software integration across platforms;

a device policy manager (DPM) for allowing simultaneous access of physical devices and peripherals to different applications and/or users within a single application;

a media engine for providing media related processing, handling, protocol compliance and signaling functionality;

a library of commons (LoC) module for providing common functions needed by other modules in one centralized place;

system management toolsets (SMT) for providing functionalities related to resource monitoring, exception and event management, logging and collecting statistics from the other modules;

one or more application services for providing a highlevel functionality that integrate the features/functionality from one or more of the media engine, the DPM, the SMT, and the PAL into a logically integrated usage by an end user;

an application control unit (ACU) for providing a standard framework to control, interface and configure the one or more application services; and

a user interface transaction layer (UITL) for abstracting the usage of different types of user interfaces to access the functionality provided by the media engine, wherein the media engine is communicatively coupled between the PAL and the ACU, wherein the LoC module is communicatively coupled to the ACU, the DPM, the media engine, the SMT, the PAL and the UITL, wherein the DPM is communicatively coupled to the PAL, the ACU and the media engine, wherein the ACU is communicatively coupled between media engine and the UITL, and wherein the SMT is communicatively coupled to the ACU, the DPM, the media engine, the LoC module, the PAL and the UITL.

2. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the media engine comprises:

a network protocol stack (NPS) for encompassing all network protocols and stacks needed for implementing standard compliant networking protocols for a networked multimedia system;

media processing component libraries (MPCLs) for encompassing all media processing algorithms to be used by the other modules in the flexible and scalable software system;

a media subsystem (MSS) to realize source-to-sink flow of media data implemented by integrating one or more algorithms from the MPCLs, the DPM and the NPS; and

signaling subsystem (SSS) for implementing state machines for media sessions and session management for interacting with a local or remote networked devices to/from which the flexible and scalable software system streams media or interacts with.

3. The architecture of claim 2, wherein the MSS comprises:

a media pipelines array (MPA) for realizing preset source-to-sink flow of media data, wherein each of the preset source-to-sink flow of media data is referred to as a media pipeline; and

a pipeline framework for providing standardized mechanisms and interfaces to implement media processing elements within each media pipeline.

4. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the SMT comprises:

a logging framework for allowing the modules in the flexible and scalable software system architecture to log traces for diagnostic and informational purposes;

an exception and event manager (EEM) for providing a standardized framework for the modules in the flexible and scalable software system architecture to identify, report, log and handle exceptions and events;

a statistics collection module (SCM) for providing a standardized framework to the modules in the flexible and scalable software system architecture for collecting and reporting statistics related to their operations;

a resource monitor (RMon) for tracking of resource utilization across all processes and threads that are running as part of the flexible and scalable software system architecture; and

a health monitor that interacts with the SCM, the EEM and the RMon to gather information on the current operational status of the modules in the flexible and scalable software system and assesses the overall health of the flexible and scalable software system based on pre-defined rules.

5. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the ACU comprises:

an application services manager (ASM) for monitoring, interfacing and managing co-existence of all application services as per a defined set of rules of a system framework;

a configuration manager (CM) for managing a user configuration for all application features and ensures that all software entities are synchronized with a centralized configuration pool;

a command dispatcher (DP) for ensuring user actions from a user interface are routed to an associated application service; and

an event handler (EH) for managing exceptions or events that are not handled by lower entities in the flexible and scalable software system.

6. A method for implementing a flexible and scalable software system architecture for an multimedia application, comprising:

selecting a subset of elements/modules needed for a multimedia application from a set of core elements/modules having pre-defined functionality in the flexible and scalable software system;

combining the selected subset of elements/modules using a system framework that defines a set of build tools and mechanisms to assist in combining the selected subset of elements/modules to realize a desired multimedia application; and

implementing the selected subset of elements/modules and the system framework based on standardized rules defined by system resource manager (SRM), wherein the SRM defines rules to manage processes, threads and memory in the flexible and scalable software system.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

allowing further levels of control on the selected subset of elements/modules by defining build-time configuration options for inclusion of specific features or functionality in the subset of selected subset of elements/modules; and

allowing further levels of control on the selected subset of elements/modules by defining run-time configuration options for allowing multiple modes of usage of the selected subset of elements/modules across different multimedia applications.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the elements/modules in the flexible and scalable software system has a pre-defined functionality that is not dependent on other elements/modules in the multimedia application.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the system framework that includes the set of tools and mechanisms to assist in combining the selected subset of elements/modules, further comprises:

combining the selected subset of elements/modules using the set of build tools and mechanisms;

providing access to each of the subset of elements/modules via a set of standardized interfaces and rules associated with usage of the each of the standardized interfaces; and

consistently defining operational behavior of each of the standardized interfaces to realize a flexible and scalable software system framework/architecture for the multimedia application.

10. A multimedia device, comprising:

a processor; and

memory operatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory having disposed in it a multimedia application having a flexible and scalable system software architecture, wherein the multimedia application comprises;

a platform abstraction layer (PAL) operatively coupled to an operating system (OS) and a board support package (BSP) for ensuring platform portability and ease of software integration across platforms;

a device policy manager (DPM) for allowing simultaneous access of physical devices and peripherals to different applications and/or users within a single application;

a media engine for providing media related processing, handling, protocol compliance and signaling functionality;

a library of commons (LoC) module for providing common functions needed by other modules in one centralized place;

system management toolsets (SMT) for providing functionalities related to resource monitoring, exception, and event management, logging and collecting statistics from the other modules;

one or more application services for providing a highlevel functionality that integrate the features/functionality from one or more of the media engine, the DPM, the SMT, and the PAL into a logically integrated usage by an end user;

an application control unit (ACU) for providing a standard framework to control, interface and configure the one or more application services; and

a user interface transaction layer (UITL) for abstracting the usage of different types of user interfaces to access the functionality provided by the media engine, wherein the media engine is communicatively coupled between the PAL and the ACU, wherein the LoC module is communicatively coupled to the ACU, the DPM, the media engine, the SMT, the PAL and the UITL, wherein the DPM is communicatively coupled to the PAL, the ACU and the media engine, wherein the ACU is communicatively coupled between media engine and the UITL, and wherein the SMT is communicatively coupled to the ACU, the DPM, the media engine, the LoC module, the PAL and the UITL.

11. The multimedia device of claim 10, wherein the media engine comprises:

a network protocol stack (NPS) for encompassing all network protocols and stacks needed for implementing standard compliant networking protocols for a networked multimedia system;

media processing component libraries (MPCLs) for encompassing all media processing algorithms to be used by the other modules in the flexible and scalable software system;

a media subsystem (MSS) to realize source-to-sink flow of media data implemented by integrating one or more algorithms from the MPCLs, the DPM and the NPS; and

signaling subsystem (SSS) for implementing state machines for media sessions and session management for interacting with a local or remote networked devices to/from which the flexible and scalable software system streams media or interacts with.

12. The multimedia device of claim 11, wherein the MSS comprises:

a media pipelines array (MPA) for realizing preset source-to-sink flow of media data, wherein each of the preset source-to-sink flow of media data is referred to as a media pipeline; and

a pipeline framework for providing standardized mechanisms and interfaces to implement media processing elements within each media pipeline.

13. The multimedia device of claim 10, wherein the SMT comprises:

a logging framework for allowing the modules in the flexible and scalable software system architecture to log traces for diagnostic and informational purposes;

an exception and event manager (EEM) for providing a standardized framework for the modules in the flexible and scalable software system architecture to identify, report, log and handle exceptions and events;

a statistics collection module (SCM) for providing a standardized framework to the modules in the flexible and scalable software system architecture for collecting and reporting statistics related to their operations;

a resource monitor (RMon) for tracking of resource utilization across all processes and threads that are running as part of the flexible and scalable software system architecture; and

a health monitor that interacts with the SCM, the EEM and the RMon to gather information on the current operational status of the modules in the flexible and scalable software system, and assesses the overall health of the flexible and scalable software system based on pre-defined rules.

14. The multimedia device of claim 10, wherein the ACU comprises:

an application services manager (ASM) for monitoring, interfacing and managing co-existence of all application services as per a defined set of rules of a system framework;

a configuration manager (CM) for managing a user configuration for all application features and ensures that all software entities are synchronized with a centralized configuration pool;

a command dispatcher (DP) for ensuring user actions from a user interface are routed to an associated application service; and

an event handler (EH) for managing exceptions or events that are not handled by lower entities in the flexible and scalable software system.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for providing a flexible and scalable software system architecture for implementing multimedia applications, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:

select a subset of elements/modules needed for a multimedia application from a set of core elements/modules having pre-defined functionality in the flexible and scalable software system;

combine the selected subset of elements/modules using a system framework that defines a set of build tools and mechanisms to assist in combining the selected subset of elements/modules to realize a desired multimedia application; and

implement the selected subset of elements/modules and the system framework based on standardized rules defined by system resource management (SRM), wherein the SRM defines rules to manage processes, threads and memory in the flexible and scalable software system.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising:

allowing further levels of control on the selected subset of elements/modules by defining build-time configuration options for inclusion of specific features or functionality in the subset of selected subset of elements/modules; and

allowing further levels of control on the selected subset of elements/modules by defining run-time configuration options for allowing multiple modes of usage of the selected subset of elements/modules across different multimedia applications.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein each of the elements/modules in the flexible and scalable software system has a pre-defined functionality that is not dependent on other elements/modules in the multimedia application.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the system framework that includes the set of build tools and mechanisms to assist in combining the selected subset of elements/modules, further comprises:

combining the selected subset of elements/modules using the set of build tools and mechanisms;

providing access to each of the subset of elements/modules via a set of standardized interfaces and rules associated with usage of the each of the standardized interfaces; and

consistently defining operational behavior of each of the standardized interfaces to realize a flexible and scalable software system framework/architecture for the multimedia application.