Fast and efficient context-aware services

Context-aware services adapt what they offer to a user's situation, such as location, device, or current activity. This book surveys the current state of the field, starting with a definition of context and the demands that context-aware applications place on a system. It also looks at how such applications fit into third-generation telecom services. Next it examines the problem of creating these services and the network technologies that can support them, with a detailed treatment of active and programmable networks. The discussion draws on the CONTEXT project, offering practical guidance for building context-aware services that work.

The authors propose a system architecture for creating and delivering these services, covering service management and the active network layers that sit beneath them. They also lay out a functional architecture for the full service lifecycle, from authoring and customization to invocation and assurance. Design considerations and implementation details are followed by criteria for evaluating the system, the requirements for a test bed, and the results of that evaluation.

The book is aimed at telecommunications developers, researchers in universities and industry, and advanced students of computer science and electrical engineering. It will also interest telecom operators and the managers and staff who run their networks.