EuroBridge: communications services for multimedia applications

The aim of the EuroBridge project is to provide a uniform communication service platform. This platform will provide true multimedia multipoint services including interactive video conferencing and store-and-forward data services. The project will enhance selected OSI application layer services to provide them with multimedia capabilities. Selection of the initial services as well as the identification of necessary functional enhancements were based on actual user requirements. To support the dedicated communication requirements imposed by multimedia and multipoint applications, the lower layers of the OSI model will be enhanced accordingly. This includes designing and implementing new lightweight session and presentation protocols, respectively. Furthermore, high-speed transport protocols will be utilised. The actual protocol stack used will be configured dynamically depending on the requested quality of service. Support of multicast capabilities will be a crucial issue. The service platform is being implemented to run on top of different high-speed networks, including FDDI and DQDB