FORMI: Integrating Adaptive Fragmented Objects into Java RMI

Distributed object-oriented applications are commonly implemented atop middleware platforms such as CORBA, .NET Remoting, and Java remote method invocation (RMI). These platforms provide a simple mechanism to invoke methods of remote objects. Increasingly more applications are demanding nonfunctional properties such as fault tolerance, high availability, and adaptivity, which require extensions to distributed objects´ basic interaction model. A fragmented-object model, such as the one Marc Shapiro proposed, can provide the required flexibility. It´s far more generic and flexible than the traditional client-server approach. A fragmented object is a truly distributed object; it consists of multiple fragments located on multiple nodes. Such a model allows arbitrary partitioning of state and functionality on these fragments, and arbitrary internal interaction between fragments of a single object. We have investigated integrating a fragmented-object model into CORBA (AspectIX), which requires internal modifications to the CORBA object request broker. Our approach for transparently integrating fault-tolerant objects into .NET Remoting is also useful for seamlessly integrating fragmented objects. Our FORMI architecture integrates fragmented objects into Java RMI without requiring internal modifications to the RMI runtime