This paper describes the main ideas of DRMTP (Distributed Real-time Multicast Transport Protocol), an adaptive application-level protocol which allows cooperative multicast of real-time streams. Our protocol is designed for peer-to-peer operation, where multiple sources residing on end-user machines may be present in the network, and is based on a dynamic stream aggregation and congestion control scheme. The protocol solves the problem of network asymmetry that plagues residential broadband networks and allows for fast fail-over and adaptation to departure of source nodes, mitigating the reliability and upstream capacity problems of end-user nodes. Coupled with traffic localization, stream patching, and TCP-friendly congestion control, we design a protocol that enables scalable soft real-time media distribution in a completely decentralised, serverless fashion.

We present a generic framework for developing complex distributed applications in open information environments, using reactive agents as basic building blocks. We address agent architecture and collaboration issues by introducing a minimal agent architecture, the Reactive Information Agent, and adopting a flexible asynchronous communication infrastructure, the Inter-Agent Communication Model. Finally, we present an implementation of the framework which allows agent designers to rapidly develop multi-agent systems based on simple heterogeneous computational elements, which are mobile, adaptive, reflective, and dynamically reconfigurable during the system lifetime.