Middleware Support for Dynamic Reconfiguration in Sensor Networks

The operational environments of sensor networks will alter over time, often due to hazardous conditions or fluctuating resource availability; however this important characteristic of sensor networks has yet to be fully addressed by current middleware solutions. In this article, we present a reflective middleware solution for co-ordinated dynamic reconfiguration of middleware behaviour across nodes in a sensor network. We evaluate this approach in a real-world case study; firstly, we demonstrate how dynamic reconfiguration optimises the performance and resource consumption of a sensor application, and secondly we illustrate that the costs of reconfiguration are not prohibitive in this domain.