The Stanford InfoBus and its service layers: Augmenting the internet with higher-level information management protocols

Abstract

The Stanford InfoBus is a prototype infrastructure developed as part of the Stanford Digital Libraries Project to extend the current lnternet protocols with a state of higher-level information management protocols. This paper surveys the five service layers provided by the Stanford InfoBus: protocols for managing Items and collections (DLIOP), metadata (SMA), search (STARTS), payment (UPAI), and rights and obhgations (FIRM).