Communication protocols form the operational basis of computer networks and tele communication systems. They are behavior conventions that describe how com munication systems inter act with each other, defining the temporal order of the interactions and the formats of the data units exchanged - essentially they determine the efficiency and reliability of computer networks. Protocol Engineering is an important discipline covering the design, validation, and implementation of communication protocols. Part I of this book is devoted to the fundamentals of communication protocols, describing their working principles and implicitly also those of computer networks. The author introduces the concepts of service, protocol, layer, and layered architecture, and introduces the main elements required in the description of protocols using a model language. He then presents the most important protocol functions. Part II deals with the description of communication proto cols, offering an overview of the various formal methods, the essence of Protocol Engineering. The author introduces the fundamental description methods, such as finite state machines, Petri nets, process calculi, and temporal logics, that are in part used as semantic models for formal description techniques. He then introduces one represen tative technique for each of the main description approaches, among others SDL and LOTOS, and surveys the use of UML for describing protocols. Part III covers the protocol life cycle and the most important development stages, presenting the reader with approaches for systematic protocol design, with various verification methods, with the main implementation techniques, and with strategies for their testing, in particular with conformance and interoperability tests, and the test description language TTCN. The author uses the simple data transfer example protocol XDT (eXample Data Transfer) throughout the book as a reference protocol to exemplify the various description techniques and to demonstrate important validation and implementation approaches. The book is an introduction to communication protocols and their development for undergraduate and graduate students of computer science and communication technology, and it is also a suitable reference for engineers and programmers. Most chapters contain exercises, and the author's accompanying website provides further online material including a complete formal description of the XDT protocol and an animated simulation visualizing its behavior.

Distribution and interoperability in heterogeneous computing environments are the key requirements for state-of-the-art information processing systems. Distributed applications are making a critical contribution in many application sectors, such as office automation, finance, manufacturing, telecommunications, aerospace, and transportation. Users demand support for the construction, integration and management of their application systems as well as for the interoperability of independent application components. DAIS '97 provides a forum for researchers, application designers and users to review, discuss and learn about new approaches and concepts in the fields of distributed applications. DAIS '97 will especially focus on the interoperability between different applications and services, different implementations of the same and of different distributed platforms.

Mastering interoperability in a computing environment consisting of different operating systems and hardware architectures is a key requirement which faces system engineers building distributed information systems. Distributed applications are a necessity in most central application sectors of the contemporary computerized society, for instance, in office automation, banking, manufacturing, telecommunication and transportation. This book focuses on the techniques available or under development, with the goal of easing the burden of constructing reliable and maintainable interoperable information systems. The topics covered in this book include: Management of distributed systems; Frameworks and construction tools; Open architectures and interoperability techniques; Experience with platforms like CORBA and RMI; Language interoperability (e.g. Java); Agents and mobility; Quality of service and fault tolerance; Workflow and object modelling issues; and Electronic commerce . The book contains the proceedings of the International Working Conference on Distributed Applications and Interoperable Systems II (DAIS'99), which was held June 28-July 1, 1999 in Helsinki, Finland. It was sponsored by the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP). The conference program presents the state of the art in research concerning distributed and interoperable systems. This is a topical research area where much activity is currently in progress. Interesting new aspects and innovative contributions are still arising regularly. The DAIS series of conferences is one of the main international forums where these important findings are reported.

Testing of Communicating Systems XIV presents the latest international results in both the theory and industrial practice of the testing of communicating systems, ranging from tools and techniques for testing to test standards, frameworks, notations, algorithms, fundamentals of testing, and industrial experiences and issues. The tools and techniques discussed apply to conformance testing, interoperability testing, performance testing, Internet protocols and applications, and multimedia and distributed systems in general.

Mastering interoperability in a computing environment consisting of different operating systems and hardware architectures is a key requirement which faces system engineers building distributed information systems. Distributed applications are a necessity in most central application sectors of the contemporary computerized society, for instance, in office automation, banking, manufacturing, telecommunication and transportation. This book focuses on the techniques available or under development, with the goal of easing the burden of constructing reliable and maintainable interoperable information systems. The topics covered in this book include: * Management of distributed systems; * Frameworks and construction tools; * Open architectures and interoperability techniques; * Experience with platforms like CORBA and RMI; * Language interoperability (e.g. Java); * Agents and mobility; * Quality of service and fault tolerance; * Workflow and object modelling issues; and * Electronic commerce .The book contains the proceedings of the International Working Conference on Distributed Applications and Interoperable Systems II (DAIS'99), which was held June 28-July 1, 1999 in Helsinki, Finland. It was sponsored by the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP). The conference program presents the state of the art in research concerning distributed and interoperable systems. This is a topical research area where much activity is currently in progress. Interesting new aspects and innovative contributions are still arising regularly. The DAIS series of conferences is one of the main international forums where these important findings are reported.

This volume contains the proceedings of FORTE 2003, the 23rd IFIP TC 6/ WG 6.1 International Conference on Formal Techniques for Networked and D- tributed Systems, held in Berlin, Germany, September 29 October 2, 2003. FORTE denotes a series of international working conferences on formal descr- tion techniques (FDTs) applied to computer networks and distributed systems. The conference series started in 1981 under the name PSTV. In 1988 a s- ond series under the name FORTE was set up. Both series were united to FORTE/PSTV in 1996. Two years ago the conference name was changed to its current form. The last ?ve meetings of this long conference series were held in Paris, France (1998), Beijing, China (1999), Pisa, Italy (2000), Cheju Island, Korea (2001), and Houston, USA (2002). The 23rd FORTE conference was especially dedicated to the application of formal description techniques to practice, especially in the Internet and c- munication domain. The scope of the papers presented at FORTE 2003 covered the application of formal techniques, timed automata, FDT-based design, v- i?cation and testing of communication systems and distributed systems, and the veri?cation of security protocols. In addition, work-in-progress papers were presented which have been published in a separate volume."

Testing of Communicating Systems XIV presents the latest international results in both the theory and industrial practice of the testing of communicating systems, ranging from tools and techniques for testing to test standards, frameworks, notations, algorithms, fundamentals of testing, and industrial experiences and issues. The tools and techniques discussed apply to conformance testing, interoperability testing, performance testing, Internet protocols and applications, and multimedia and distributed systems in general.

Das Buch fuhrt in die Grundlagen des Protocol Engineerings ein. Es stellt die Funktionsweise von Kommunikationsprotokollen, die Methoden und Techniken fur ihre Beschreibung sowie die Phasen der Protokollentwicklung vor. Es werden sowohl praktische als auch theoretische Aspekte des Protocol Engineerings untersucht.