Windows Rally
Encyclopedia
Windows Rally is a set of technologies from Microsoft
intended to simplify the setup and maintenance of wired and wireless
network
-connected devices. They aim to increase reliability and security of connectivity for users who connect the devices to the Internet
or to computers running Microsoft Windows
. These technologies provide control of network Quality of Service
(QoS) and diagnostics for data sharing, communications, and entertainment. Windows Rally technologies provide provisioning for the following devices:
devices and determine network topology
. In Windows Vista
, it enables a graphical view of all the devices in the network on the Network Map. For Windows XP computers to appear on the Network Map, the LLTD Responder must be downloaded and installed. Devices that provide audio or video playback or that are bandwidth sensitive can implement the QoS
Extension part of the protocol so that they receive prioritized streams and that changes in available bandwidth have less impact on the playback experience.
API for time dependent multimedia data, such as audio or video streams. qWAVE uses different packet priority schemes for real-time flows (such as multimedia packets) and best-effort flows (such as file downloads or e-mails) to ensure that real time data gets delayed as little as possible, while providing a high quality channel for other data packets. qWAVE-enabled applications together with devices that implement the LLTD QoS Extensions aim to improve an end user's experience of streaming video by prioritizing traffic and reducing the effects of network-related transient issues.
or Windows XP
SP2 can create network configuration settings and transmit them to the access point. Alternatively, users can also print the configuration settings for reference for manually configuring the device. With Windows Connect Now, one of the following methods may be used for easier configuration:
messaging
, discovery, description, and eventing
on resource-constrained devices. DPWS describes a set of requirements that enable a device to be discovered by clients and describe available services to those clients. DPWS is similar Universal Plug and Play
(UPnP) but, it is fully aligned with Web Services technology, supports standards for device connectivity such as WS-Discovery and WS-Eventing and includes numerous extension points allowing for integration of device-provided services in enterprise-wide application scenarios and roaming devices that work across the Internet.
In Windows Vista, Web Services for Devices (WSDAPI) is an unmanaged code implementation of the Devices Profile for Web Services (DPWS) standard. The Windows Communication Foundation
(WCF) executes managed code and offers enterprise-level services for Web Services solutions on Windows XP and Windows Vista.
(SSDP) and WS-Discovery, and for extensible discovery to support other protocols, Windows Vista includes the Function Discovery API. Function Discovery serves as an abstraction layer between applications and devices, allowing applications to discover devices by referencing the device's function, rather than by its bus type or the nature of its connection. The Function Discovery API aims to create applications that enumerate system resources, use devices of a specific type and discover and manage lists of devices or objects, which are sorted by functionality or class, whether local or network connected. Function Discovery supports an extensible discovery provider model. Vendors can also create a custom provider to expose resources through Function Discovery.
(USB). PnP-X allows network-connected devices to appear as devices inside Windows connected physically and provides an installation experience that is similar to attaching a bus-connected device. The device manufacturer implements PnP-X capabilities to supplement either UPnP or Web Services for Devices (WSD) enabled devices. As a result, for end users, the device is relatively as easy to install as traditional Plug and Play
devices.
-based protocol suite based on preliminary versions of Web Services protocols such as XML and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). With UPnP, a device can dynamically join a network, obtain an IP address, convey its capability, and discover the presence and capabilities of other devices on the network. Information about the set of services that a particular device type can provide is captured in an XML
device description document that the device hosts. The device description also lists properties such as device name and icons associated with the device. UPnP has been adopted widely for devices that interact in home network audio-video scenarios.
UPnP is supported by Windows Me
, Windows XP and Windows Vista. In Windows Vista, UPnP is integrated with PnP-X and Function Discovery.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
intended to simplify the setup and maintenance of wired and wireless
Wireless network
Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment...
network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
-connected devices. They aim to increase reliability and security of connectivity for users who connect the devices to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
or to computers running Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. These technologies provide control of network Quality of Service
Quality of service
The quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
(QoS) and diagnostics for data sharing, communications, and entertainment. Windows Rally technologies provide provisioning for the following devices:
- Wireless access pointWireless access pointIn computer networking, a wireless access point is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards...
s, PCsPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, and serversServer (computing)In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"... - Network printerComputer printerIn computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a text or graphics of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most new printers, a...
s, projectorsVideo projectorA video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. All video projectors use a very bright light to project the image, and most modern ones can correct any curves, blurriness, and other...
, printer bridges, digital still camerasDigital cameraA digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
, and game consoles - Digital media receiverDigital media receiverA digital media receiver , also commonly referred to as a media extender, media streamer, digital media hub, or digital media adapter , is a home entertainment device that can connect to a home network to retrieve digital media files from a personal computer or other networked media server and...
s, network media players, set-top boxSet-top boxA set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...
es, digital photo frameDigital photo frameA digital photo frame is a picture frame that displays digital photos without the need to print them or use a computer.- Features :...
s, and PDAPDAA PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
s
Windows Rally technologies
Windows Rally includes the following set of technologies:LLTD
The Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) protocol enables applications to discoverService discovery
Service discovery protocols are network protocols which allow automatic detection of devices and services offered by these devices on a computer network....
devices and determine network topology
Network topology
Network topology is the layout pattern of interconnections of the various elements of a computer or biological network....
. In Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, it enables a graphical view of all the devices in the network on the Network Map. For Windows XP computers to appear on the Network Map, the LLTD Responder must be downloaded and installed. Devices that provide audio or video playback or that are bandwidth sensitive can implement the QoS
Quality of service
The quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
Extension part of the protocol so that they receive prioritized streams and that changes in available bandwidth have less impact on the playback experience.
qWAVE
Windows Vista includes qWAVE, a pre-configured Quality of ServiceQuality of service
The quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
API for time dependent multimedia data, such as audio or video streams. qWAVE uses different packet priority schemes for real-time flows (such as multimedia packets) and best-effort flows (such as file downloads or e-mails) to ensure that real time data gets delayed as little as possible, while providing a high quality channel for other data packets. qWAVE-enabled applications together with devices that implement the LLTD QoS Extensions aim to improve an end user's experience of streaming video by prioritizing traffic and reducing the effects of network-related transient issues.
Windows Connect Now
Windows Connect Now (WCN) is the name of Windows Rally technologies aimed for simpler wireless device configuration. With Windows Connect Now, users running Windows VistaWindows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
or Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
SP2 can create network configuration settings and transmit them to the access point. Alternatively, users can also print the configuration settings for reference for manually configuring the device. With Windows Connect Now, one of the following methods may be used for easier configuration:
- WCN-NET is Microsoft's implementation of the Wi-Fi Simple ConfigWi-Fi Protected SetupWi-Fi Protected Setup is a computing standard for easy and secure establishment of a wireless home network....
standard. It provides for configuration of devices using out-of-band EthernetEthernetEthernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
and in-band wireless networks. In Windows Vista, WCN-NET can discover an unconfigured router, access pointWireless access pointIn computer networking, a wireless access point is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards...
, base stationBase stationThe term base station can be used in the context of land surveying and wireless communications.- Land surveying :In the context of external land surveying, a base station is a GPS receiver at an accurately-known fixed location which is used to derive correction information for nearby portable GPS...
or a device such as a Media CenterWindows Media Center ExtenderWindows Media Center Extenders are devices that are configured to connect via a Network link to a computer running Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium/Ultimate or Windows 7 Home Premium or higher to stream the computer's media center functions to the Extender device...
Extender by using UPnPUniversal Plug and PlayUniversal Plug and Play is a set of networking protocols for primarily residential networks without enterprise class devices that permits networked devices, such as personal computers, printers, Internet gateways, Wi-Fi access points and mobile devices to seamlessly discover each other's presence...
, authenticate with the device by using a personal identification number (PIN), provide wireless settings that are based on user selection and set up a wireless network over a wired Ethernet connection. Windows XP and earlier Windows versions do not support WCN-NET.
- WCN-UFD uses an API and an XMLXMLExtensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
format that works with a wizard to write configuration files to a USB Flash DriveUSB flash driveA flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
for more secure wireless networks. Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later Windows operating systems supports WCN-UFD.
- WCN-MTP includes a Media Transfer ProtocolMedia Transfer ProtocolThe Media Transfer Protocol is a devised set of custom extensions to the Picture Transfer Protocol . Whereas PTP was designed for downloading photographs from digital cameras, Media Transfer Protocol supports the transfer of music files on digital audio players and media files on portable media...
(MTP) extension that enables an MTP initiator to provide an MTP responder with configuration parameters for joining a wireless network and supports more secure configuration of MTP-capable devices on wireless networks. In Windows Vista, a temporary USB cable connection can be used for MTP-class devices such as portable media, digital cameras etc.
Devices Profile for Web Services
The Devices Profile for Web Services (DPWS) standard defines a minimal set of implementation constraints to enable secure web serviceWeb service
A Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
messaging
WS-ReliableMessaging
WS-ReliableMessaging describes a protocol that allows SOAP messages to be reliably delivered between distributed applications in the presence of software component, system, or network failures....
, discovery, description, and eventing
WS-Eventing
WS-Eventing defines a protocol for web services to subscribe to another web service, or to accept a subscription from another web service. It is used to provide asynchronous notifications to interested parties.-External links:**...
on resource-constrained devices. DPWS describes a set of requirements that enable a device to be discovered by clients and describe available services to those clients. DPWS is similar Universal Plug and Play
Universal Plug and Play
Universal Plug and Play is a set of networking protocols for primarily residential networks without enterprise class devices that permits networked devices, such as personal computers, printers, Internet gateways, Wi-Fi access points and mobile devices to seamlessly discover each other's presence...
(UPnP) but, it is fully aligned with Web Services technology, supports standards for device connectivity such as WS-Discovery and WS-Eventing and includes numerous extension points allowing for integration of device-provided services in enterprise-wide application scenarios and roaming devices that work across the Internet.
In Windows Vista, Web Services for Devices (WSDAPI) is an unmanaged code implementation of the Devices Profile for Web Services (DPWS) standard. The Windows Communication Foundation
Windows Communication Foundation
The Windows Communication Foundation , previously known as "Indigo", is an application programming interface in the .NET Framework for building connected, service-oriented applications.-The architectures:...
(WCF) executes managed code and offers enterprise-level services for Web Services solutions on Windows XP and Windows Vista.
Function Discovery
To support Simple Service Discovery ProtocolSimple Service Discovery Protocol
The Simple Service Discovery Protocol is a network protocol based on the Internet Protocol Suite for advertisement and discovery of network services and presence information...
(SSDP) and WS-Discovery, and for extensible discovery to support other protocols, Windows Vista includes the Function Discovery API. Function Discovery serves as an abstraction layer between applications and devices, allowing applications to discover devices by referencing the device's function, rather than by its bus type or the nature of its connection. The Function Discovery API aims to create applications that enumerate system resources, use devices of a specific type and discover and manage lists of devices or objects, which are sorted by functionality or class, whether local or network connected. Function Discovery supports an extensible discovery provider model. Vendors can also create a custom provider to expose resources through Function Discovery.
Plug and Play Extensions (PnP-X)
PnP-X uses SSDP and WS-Discovery network communication protocols to make network-connected devices as discoverable as those that are connected directly to a computer over a bus such as Universal Serial BusUniversal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
(USB). PnP-X allows network-connected devices to appear as devices inside Windows connected physically and provides an installation experience that is similar to attaching a bus-connected device. The device manufacturer implements PnP-X capabilities to supplement either UPnP or Web Services for Devices (WSD) enabled devices. As a result, for end users, the device is relatively as easy to install as traditional Plug and Play
Plug-and-play
In computing, plug and play is a term used to describe the characteristic of a computer bus, or device specification, which facilitates the discovery of a hardware component in a system, without the need for physical device configuration, or user intervention in resolving resource conflicts.Plug...
devices.
Universal Plug and Play
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is an IPInternet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
-based protocol suite based on preliminary versions of Web Services protocols such as XML and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). With UPnP, a device can dynamically join a network, obtain an IP address, convey its capability, and discover the presence and capabilities of other devices on the network. Information about the set of services that a particular device type can provide is captured in an XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
device description document that the device hosts. The device description also lists properties such as device name and icons associated with the device. UPnP has been adopted widely for devices that interact in home network audio-video scenarios.
UPnP is supported by Windows Me
Windows Me
Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft, and was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x series. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006....
, Windows XP and Windows Vista. In Windows Vista, UPnP is integrated with PnP-X and Function Discovery.
See also
- Windows Vista networking technologiesWindows Vista networking technologiesWindows Vista and Windows Server 2008 contain a new networking stack, named Next Generation TCP/IP stack, that improves on the previous stack in several ways. It includes native implementation of IPv6, as well as complete overhaul of IPv4...
- Web serviceWeb serviceA Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
- Windows Communication FoundationWindows Communication FoundationThe Windows Communication Foundation , previously known as "Indigo", is an application programming interface in the .NET Framework for building connected, service-oriented applications.-The architectures:...
- Quality of ServiceQuality of serviceThe quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...