An Operating System for the Home

PRESENTED BYKARL AND SALEM

What is it?

• A simple way to fully network devices in the home.

• Provides:• A central location to add and manage devices to users.• An abstraction of device and home differences to developers.

Challenges

• Majority of users will be non-experts

• Applications must support:• Systems composed of various devices connected by various standards• User control preferences• Device coordination

• System is likely to grow over time

Current Paradigms

• Two common abstractions:• Appliance

• Tends to be easier to use, but harder to expand. • Network of devices

• Tend to be easier to expand while being more difficult to use.

How is it different?

• HomeOS is based on a PC-like abstraction

• Devices are treated as peripherals

• All devices managed centrally at the HomeOS

• Provides application and device compatibility information

• Allows developers to write applications through higher-level APIs

Layered Architecture

Device Connectivity Layer (DCL)

• Discovers new devices

• Maintains connections

• Provides handles for higher levels to communicate with devices

• Composed of modules for each networking protocol

Device Functionality Layer (DFL)

• Generates APIs as services called “roles” from DCL device handles

• Roles provide a set of device specific operations to applications

• Use of roles protect applications from device protocol changes

• When adding a new device:• Can be accessed by an existing role if it exists• Have a new role added without directly modifying HomeOS

Alternative Architectures

Management Layer

• Managing Central area• Add/remove users and applications

• Managing accesses to devices• Prevent conflicting

App layerMgmt layer

Management Layer Requirements

Apps as security principals

Easy-to-verify settings

Time-based access control

Management Layer

Access control policy:• Datalog-based rules

• [r, g, m, Ts,Te. D. pri, a]• [device, user group, app, tstart, tend, dayOfWeek, priority, accessMode]

• Rules include time and applications• The users can understand configuration by queries

• Simpler than ACLs in current Oses

• Time based user Account• HomeOS can have associated time window of validity (guest)

Application layeruse and compose the devices

DFL services

Management layer interposes on accesses

Manifests help with testing compatibility• Lists of mandatory and optional features• E.g., mandatory: {TV, SonyTV}, {MediaServer}

optional: {Speaker}

App layerMgmt layer

Demo

Conclusions

HomeOS eases extensibility and management by providing a PC abstraction for home technology

Still lots of exciting things to do!• What core capabilities should be in every home?• Can we provide non-intrusive identity inference?