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Portable Plug N Play Software for iAppliances

By Michael Foley

(05/21/01, 08:05:34 AM EDT)

Virata Corporation is introducing UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) software for information appliance system developers. Developers utilizing EmWebUPnP can automate network control for their products. UPnP technology allows companies to deliver products that are easy for the consumer to install and operate. Devices such as PCs, printers, scanners, intelligent handheld devices, DSL modems, and set top boxes will be some of the first devices to adopt this technology. UPnP simplifies the communication between intelligent devices

UPnP is an emerging standard endorsed by the UPnP Forum to simplify the connection of networked devices. UPnP builds on existing standards and technologies and does not require the replacement of existing infrastructure. UPnP-enabled products seamlessly connect and communicate with other UPnP-enabled devices on any network, without the need for user configuration, centralized servers, or product-specific driver software.

EmWebUPnP is part of Virata's standalone software product offerings and is bundled with other core EmWeb software components, including EmWebServer, EmWebClient, and EmWebXML (an XML parser). Available to developers in June, EmWebUPnP runs on the following embedded OS environments: OSE, VxWorks, Linux, ATMOS, ChorusOS, and POSIX/Unix among others. Implementation only requires defining the UPnP-accessible functionality of the device and interfacing the EmWebUPnP code to the device's software system. EmWebUPnP provides turnkey implementations of UPnP protocols for devices, customized automatically through the compilation of the XML (eXtensible Markup Language) Device and Service Descriptions.

Integrating UPnP functionality into any device using EmWebUPnP consists of:

Adding the UPnP Service Descriptions and the Device Description document to the Web content.
Implementing the service API's generated by the EmWeb compiler based on Service Descriptions.
Invoking an EmWebUPnP routine to activate the UPnP device.

The EmWeb Compiler compiles the UPnP XML Service Descriptions to produce a run-time API for all the actions and evented state variables of each UPnP Service. EmWeb analyzes the Device Description at run-time, allowing the user to choose which features his/her device will present to UPnP Control Points. EmWebUPnP provides a complete implementation of SSDP, GENA, and SOAP.