Jini technology: opportunity ’round the bend

Sun Chairman and CEO Scott McNealy came to New York to talk about the future. But first he couldn’t resist basking a bit in the glory of the recent past:

“The Java platform momentum has had a very good few weeks,” McNealy told a keynote audience at Java Business Expo conference. “First off, compatibility is a good thing — even if a judge has to do it,” said McNealy, referring to a recent court ruling in Sun’s compatibility lawsuit.

“Next, there’s the new opportunity to use our AOL and Netscape partnership to get another content creator and aggregator behind the Java platform.”

“Then you throw in the Java 2 software announcement we’ve made… and the community source efforts. I think the momentum here is very large.”

Jini technology at work

That momentum is likely soon to get an extra boost from something called “Jini” technology — a startlingly simple, lightweight, networked system that enables business and consumer devices to share services and communicate. Jini technology is built on the foundation of Java APIs and the Java platform.

Sun’s Paul Aubin demonstrated how the technology works, by starting a simple demo with only a network, and a table full of disconnected consumer and computing devices. A browser was open on a computer desktop to monitor the results.

First, Aubin plugged in a camera to the network — and an icon for the camera instantly appeared in the browser window, indicating that the camera had joined the Jini technology network.

Then Aubin clicked on the camera icon — and the user interface for a camera controller was loaded across the network into the browser.

Next, Aubin clicked on a button on the new user interface — and a digital snapshot was taken remotely by the camera, and instantly appeared on the computer screen.

Finally, Aubin connected a printer to the network, and the camera’s UI controls sprouted an active “Save” button, so that Aubin could store the picture. Interestingly, the system “knows” whether a service is available, and will only display the appropriate active buttons when services such as data storage are connected to the Jini technology environment.

The demonstration shows how devices discover one another through the Jini “lookup” service on the network, and how they share and effortlessly communicate information between themselves.

No more ‘plug & play with it’

McNealy says just one of the benefits of Jini technology will be the future elimination of hardware install problems.

Ironically, says McNealy, a new computer “has every device driver on it that you don’t need. But it doesn’t have the ones you do need — because by definition, it won’t have the device driver of the new printer that just came out. That’s the problem with the ‘plug and play with it’ era of networking.”

Aubin explains that with Jini technology, the driver lives in the device itself (for instance, inside a printer or a camera): “Because it’s Java technology, the platform you connect the device to doesn’t matter — it runs and is interpreted by the Java virtual machine. When you buy your new [disk drive or printer or camera] and bring it home and plug it in, you know it’s gonna work.”

Devices that don’t yet have a Java virtual machine — say, a networked printer — can be accommodated through simple proxy software, as long as they have some kind of network interface.

The software on the device can also provide a user interface to a computer. “If you have a guest staying at your house and they want to print to your printer, they just plug into your home network,” says Aubin. “They can use your printer because your printer is providing the device driver and the control application over the network.”

Jini technology down to business

McNealy says the technology applies equally well to office environments with fax machines and data storage services.

“You might also have a very large network where you could potentially have service providers be the lookup service for devices like cell phones. Or maybe the cable company is a lookup service for set-top boxes, and the set-top box is a lookup service for in-home devices.”

This model of a wholly networked world could bring businesses, their services, and consumers all closer together.

Aubin offered an example from the world of washing machines. “Let’s say I have a Maytag washing machine that needs service. Because the Maytag has a Java virtual machine in it, Maytag could come in over the network, and analyze and diagnose the problem and possibly even fix it without having to show up on site.”

“That poor Maytag repairman,” joked McNealy, referring to a popular Maytag advertising campaign. “He’s never gonna get a call now!”

It’s even possible to communicate with devices directly over electrical lines, so the washing machine wouldn’t have to be connected directly a traditional network — just plugged into the electrical outlet.

A formal launch in January

Although McNealy’s demonstration was only a technology preview, the Sun CEO promised that many additional details will be unveiled about Jini technology during a formal launch event on January 25th, 1999.

McNealy expects Jini technology to be widely adopted, both because it uses existing infrastructure and because the concept is so simple: “This doesn’t require you to replace your legacy systems — you can integrate your legacy environment. You can use the existing wiring environment, including the copper wire network inside your house. You use standards-based Web technologies for access. And you have security and authentication above and beyond what you find on a normal padlock.”

McNealy says that Sun has already seen great interest from makers of printers, consumer devices, disk drive makers, and other equipment. “If you have a Java virtual machine in your devices already, it’s almost a no-brainer to add the Jini agent to enable your virtual machine,” says McNealy. “And if you’re not doing a Java virtual machine yet, Jini technology may be the most compelling of all reasons to put a Java virtual machine in your equipment.”

“There were something like 2.9 billion microprocessors sold in 1997,” says McNealy. “Only 70 million of those went into PCs. I think that says something about the opportunity here.”