Responsive protocols for Distributed MultiMedia Applications

A relevant class of Distributed MultiMedia Applications (DMMAs) can be impl emented to support critical activities from which either financial investme nts, or human lives, or both, may depend. These DMMAs can be distributed ac ross wide geographical distances; owing to their critical nature, the princ ipal requirements they exhibit include the need for scalable services that be both timely and highly available (i.e. responsive). In order to provide support to these DMMAs, we have designed and developed a communication soft ware architecture that meets effectively these requirements. In this paper, we introduce that architecture, and discuss its performance as resulting f rom a prototype implementation we have developed.