Management architecture for distributed measurement services [power demand monitoring and control system example]

MADAMS (management architecture for distributed measurement services) is a novel service-based software framework designed for publishing, retrieving, configuring, setting-up, monitoring and executing distributed measurement services over the Internet. The basic building block is the measurement service, i.e. a software object properly configured and made remotely accessible across a network. A measurement service corresponds either to a single (virtual or physical) instrument, or to a collection of measurement services abstracting a test method. Service attributes include the graphical interface which supports user interactions. MADAMS is especially tuned to: (i) defining a common and straightforward way to use distributed measurement services; (ii) introducing a data-exchange layer for inter-instrument communications; and (iii) exploiting a design pattern which separates definition of service functionalities from distribution concerns. This paper introduces MADAMS, outlines its current implementation which depends on Java/Jini, and shows its application to a demand monitoring-control measurement system.