Method and system for reconfiguring a communications stack

Abstract

A method and system for reconfiguring a communications stack. The system provides a comstack manager that can be used with a communications stack having any number of layers, which may be located on different computers. In addition, the comstack manager facilitates the reconfiguration of a communications stack without having to modify any communications stack layers. Each layer provides a single entrypoint through which it communicates to its adjacent layers, and the communications stack layers communicate with each other using a message transfer system that has a single entrypoint for transferring messages. The single entrypoint of the layer provides compatibility among the layers and flexibility since each layer is not bound to a specific definition of another layer's functions. That is, each layer only needs to know how to access the single entrypoint which is the same for each layer. The comstack manager receives configuration information at runtime that contains an indication of each communications stack layer, a reference to their location which indicates whether the layer is located on a local or remote computer, and the ordering of the layers. After receiving the configuration information, the system comstack manager starts the communications stack. As such, reconfiguring the communications stack merely requires sending the comstack manager new configuration information indicating either a new communications stack or one or more new layers in the communications stack.