Master%20Thesis%20Proposal

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Master Thesis Proposal

• Building Collaborative Web Browsing and Chat into
  Standard Web Pages
• By
• Patricia Ferrao

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Introduction

• Casual user can browse the web and chat with a
  group of friends
• Entirely HTTP based
• No pre-registration, downloads or browser
  plug-ins
• Login from anywhere and immediately start
  collaborating
• Requires Internet access, a browser, session
  login and password
• Uses only light-weight, open source technology
• Works across firewalls

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Competing Products

• Click To Meet by First Virtual Communications
• Uses T.120 and H.323
• Corporate solution
• Client browser requires plug-ins and uses
  Active-X components
• Expensive (range of 17K to 30K)
• Cisco Collaboration Server by Cisco
• Also a corporate solution
• Need their development kit to customize features
• Client is browser-based, requires no downloads
• Firewall friendly
• What are the metrics for evaluating these
  products?

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Competing Products (Contd)

• Instant Co-Browsing by Mitsubishi Electric
  Research Labs
• light-weight, web-based solution
• Uses Javascript, Java Servlets and DHTML
• Uses client pull
• Does not include chat, but includes a shared
  pointer
• Not a distributed architecture solution
• Requires that all browsable pages be part of the
  same domain as the Servlet application
• have not seen an implementation available
• New products rapidly emerging where? citations?

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What Differentiates My Solution?

• Uses Pushlets (server push technology)
• Distributed architecture that scales well and
  works across multiple client servers
• Can browse across entire Internet (Web pages need
  not belong to the same domain as the application)
• Uses only open-source technology

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System Architecture
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Client Server Registers with Directory

• All Client Servers register with the Directory
  Server
• Directory server keeps URLs in database
• Directory Server gives Backbone Servers URL to
  Client Servers upon registration
• Directory Server keeps track of how many clients
  each server has active at any given time

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Client Registers for a Session

• Users determine session ID and password among
  themselves
• Client uses Directorys URL to initiate the
  service connection
• Directory redirects user to Client Server with
  available resources
• User logs in with the Client Server using session
  ID, password and login name

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Client Server Sets up a Session

• Client Server informs the backbone that it is
  part of a session, and provides session ID and
  password
• Backbone stores all active session IDs,
  passwords, and participating Client Server URLs
  in DB
• Client Server keeps track of its sessions and
  participating clients

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Collaborative Browsing

• User selects a URL to browse
• Client browser retrieves web page
• Client browser posts new URL to its local Client
  Server
• Client Server provides session ID and URL to
  backbone server
• Backbone gives new URL to all Client Servers
  belonging to session
• Client Servers push new URL to participating
  clients
• Client browsers retrieve and display web page

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Collaborative Chat

• User types text message at browser
• Browser posts chat message with local Server
• Client Server gives session ID, client login
  name, and text message to backbone
• Backbone provides information to all
  participating Clients Servers
• Client Servers push chat information to clients
• Browsers display chat id-name and text

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System Technology
MySQL
MySQL
JDBC
BackkBone Server Tomcat, Servlet
Directory Server Tomcat, Servlet
JDBC
HTTP
HTTP
HTTP
HTTP
HTTP
Client Server Tomcat, Pushlet
Client Server Tomcat, Pushlet
Pushlets
Pushlets
Postlets
Postlets
Client DHTML
Client DHTML
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What is a Pushlet?

• Java Servlet application designed by Just van den
  Broecke from Just Objects B.V.
• Allows a web server to push information to a
  client browser
• Pushes events to clients using Javascript
• Browser uses Javascript to register for events
  with the Pushlet application

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Pushlet (contd)

• Client registers with Pushlet application
• Application will hold on to the connection for as
  long as the client remains available
• Pushlet will push an event to all active clients
  as soon as event is generated

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What is a Postlet?

• Also a Java Servlet (Where is the reference? Who
  designs it?)
• Allows a client browser to post an event to a
  Pushlet application
• Client uses HTTP Get
• Servlet does not hold up client connection
• Postlet event is published to all Pushlet active
  clients

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Pushlet Experiment

• Designed a Pushlet application in Fall 2002 for
  semester project
• Application generates and clears events randomly
  every few seconds
• Application pushes event information (either new
  event, or event clear) to all registered clients
• Client-side DHTML displays events in a table, and
  updated the clients browser with new information
  from server

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Experimental Results

• Tomcat does not timeout Pushlet connections, even
  if information is not frequently pushed
• Pushlet holds up a Tomcat client connection. If
  all allowable connections are held-up, no other
  client can connect
• Suggest improvement on Pushlet as part of the
  thesis. What is your plan? This can be one of
  main contribution.

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Client-Side Technology

• Web page consists of five frames, one of which is
  a hidden frame
• Visible frames include a status frame, browsing
  frame, URL frame, and chat frame
• Status frame displays all active participants
  login IDs
• URL frame contains a text field where a user can
  enter a new URL for collaborative browsing

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Client-Side Technology (contd)

• Browsing frame displays the web page that all
  participants are currently viewing
• Chat frame displays chat messages
• Hidden frame maintains the Pushlet connection,
  and distributes events received from Pushlet
  application (status, URL, chat) to the correct
  frames

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Client-Side Technology (contd)

• Hidden frame posts events (chat, URL) to the
  Client Server Postlet application
• Chat frame gives its chat messages to the hidden
  frame for distribution
• Browsing frame gives its URL to the hidden frame
  for distribution

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Signed JAVASCIPT

• Javascript does not allow a frame to discover
  another frames URL unless all web pages belong
  to the same domain
• Limitation can be overcome with signed Javascript
  technology
• Snippet of Javacript code can be certified by a
  service like VeriSign
• Client is presented with a certificate of
  authenticity, and must accept the certificate
  before the Javascript code can execute

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Limitations

• Service requires clients to use Netscape
  Navigator as the browser (signed Javacript is
  browser-dependent)
• This service may not work if there are proxy
  servers between clients and Client Servers
  (limitation of pushlets)

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Timeline

• Already Complete - done during Fall 2002 and
  Spring 2003
• Master Pushlets and Postlets, Tomcat Server
• Learn Javascript, Servlets and DHTML
• Research the topic to learn about competing
  applications and technologies
• Put together a detailed thesis topic

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Timeline (contd)

• In Progress target completion October 2003
• Write thesis proposal, pick a committee and
  present topic
• Get committee approval
• Put together a presentation for the network
  research group discussions

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Timeline (contd)

• Future Fall 2003 and Spring 2004
• Write software
• Setup a test bed and test configuration
• Future - complete during Summer 2004
• Complete implementation and testing of
  application (final details)
• Give demo to Dr. Chow

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Timeline (contd)

• Future - complete during Fall 2004
• Write Thesis paper
• Defend Thesis
• Graduate!!

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Deliverables

• Collaborative web browsing and text chat
  application software
• Demo of registration process for Client Servers,
  Login process for clients, collaborative
  browsing, and collaborative chat (using two
  client servers, one backbone and one directory)
• Thesis report

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References

1. Just van den Broecke, Pushlets Whitepaper ,
   Just Objects B.V. 2002/08/05.
2. Alan W. Esenther, Instant Co-Browsing
   Lightweight Real-Time Collaborative Web
   Browsing, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs,
   http//www2002.org/CDROM/poster/86/, 2002.
3. Nishanth Menon, Collaborative Tools for the
   next millennium (and beyond) .
4. Microsoft, Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server
   Downloadable documentation, http//www.microsoft.
   com/exchange/techinfo/productdoc/2000/conferencedo
   c.asp , May 2001.
5. Microsoft, Microsoft Exchange Chat Service,
   http//www.microsoft.com/exchange/en/55/help/docum
   ents/chat/coc01_3.htm, February 28, 2000.
6. Lewis Ward, WebEx MediaTone Delivering on the
   Promise of Rich Media Communications, white
   paper, http//www.webex.com/technology_whitepape
   rs.html , May 2002.
7. First Virtual Communications, Click To Meet,
   http//www.fvc.com.

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References (contd)

1. Sun Microsystems, Sun Forum, http//www.sun.com/
   desktop/products/software/sunforum/.
2. John Fontana, Sun Launches IM server,
   integrates it with collaborative platform ,
   Network World, http//www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/0
   410sunim.html, 04/10/03.
3. Cisco, Cisco Collaboration Server,
   http//www.cisco.com/warp/public/180/prod_plat/cus
   t_cont/nam/collaboration.html.
4. Linda Rosencrance, Tech firms lobby for open IM
   standards, http//www.computerworld.com/printthis
   /2000/0,4814,45662,00.html, June 08, 2000.
5. Cathleen Moore, XMPP rises to face Simple
   standard, InfoWorld, April 18, 2003.
6. Christopher Saunders, A Lack of Simple
   Pleasures, Instant Messaging Planet, Nov. 12,
   2002.
7. Jabber Software Foundation, Jabber Technology
   Overview, http//www.jabber.org.

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References (contd)

1. Eidelshtein Ilya and Taubkin Victor, IRC
   Internet Relay Chat, http//www2.rad.com/networks
   /1995/irc/irc.htm.
2. Elizabeth Daly, Distributed Slide Show Tool,
   University of Dublin, September 16, 2002
3. Ganesh Godavari , SGFR Secure Groupware for
   First Responders, University of Colorado at
   Colorado Springs, http//cs.uccs.edu/sgfr/,
   2003.
4. Microsoft Corp. MSN Messenger,
   http//messenger.msn.com/
5. AOL Instant Messenger, http//www.aim.com/
6. YAHOO Messenger, http//messenger.yahoo.com/
7. The Apache Jakarta Project, http//jakarta.apache.
   org/tomcat/
8. Patricia Ferrao, Event Application Using
   Pushlets, http//piglet.uccs.edu/cs526/projF2002/
   pferrao/doc/Eventapplication.doc, December 6,
   2002