Title: The HyperVerse: concepts for a federated and Torrent-based '3D Web'

Authors: Jean Botev, Alexander Hohfeld, Hermann Schloss, Ingo Scholtes, Peter Sturm, Markus Esch

Addresses: Systemsoftware and Distributed Systems, Computer Science Department, University of Trier, 54286 Trier, Germany. ' Systemsoftware and Distributed Systems, Computer Science Department, University of Trier, 54286 Trier, Germany. ' Systemsoftware and Distributed Systems, Computer Science Department, University of Trier, 54286 Trier, Germany. ' Systemsoftware and Distributed Systems, Computer Science Department, University of Trier, 54286 Trier, Germany. ' Systemsoftware and Distributed Systems, Computer Science Department, University of Trier, 54286 Trier, Germany. ' Faculte des Sciences, de la Technologie, et de la Communication, University of Luxemburg, 1359 Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Abstract: The vision of a |3D Web| as a combination of massive online virtual environments and today|s WWW currently attracts a lot of attention. While it provides a multitude of opportunities, the realisation of this vision on a global scale poses severe technical challenges. This paper points out some of the major challenges and highlights key concepts of an infrastructure that is being developed in order to meet them. Among these concepts, special emphasis is put on the usage of a two-tier Peer-to-Peer approach, the implementation of Torrent-based data distribution, and the development of a graded consistency notion. The paper presents the current state of a prototype implementation that is being developed in order to validate these concepts and evaluate alternative approaches.

Keywords: distributed virtual environments; DVEs; peer-to-peer; two-tier P2P; 3D web; world wide web; internet; Torrent-based data distribution; graded consistency; federated infrastructure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAMC.2008.022219

International Journal of Advanced Media and Communication, 2008 Vol.2 No.4, pp.331 - 350

Published online: 23 Dec 2008 *

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