Transferring a Virtual Environment Client Session

Between Independent OpenSimulator Installations

Justin Clark-Casey
OSVW Consulting
Bournemout! "nited #ingdom
$ustin%%&$ustin%%'org
( )*+, IEEE
AbstractThis paper describes the current mechanism of
interconnecting independent OpenSimulator installations such
that a client session can be transferred from one installation to
another. It also describes the consequences of this mechanism
and reflects on their possible impact.
Keywordsvirtual environments, virtual worlds, immersive
environments, distributed systems, distributed virtual environments
I' I-T.O/"CTIO-
OpenSimulator 0+1 is freely downloada2le open-sour%e
virtual environment server platform %ompati2le wit %lient
programs 3%ommonly known as 4viewers45 tat were originally
designed for te Se%ond 6ife 0)1 environment'
6ike oter open-sour%e virtual environment systems su% as
Open Wonderland 0,1! real7tend 081 and older 9:ulti-"ser
/ungeons; 3:"/s5 and 9:"/! o2$e%t orienteds; 3:OOs5! an
OpenSimulator instan%e %an 2e osted independently of any
oter system' Tat is! separate installations of te software %an
ost %ontent and users witout referen%e to any e<ternal server
or set of servi%es'
=owever! te OpenSimulator distri2ution is also 2undled
wit a system! known as te =ypergrid 0>1! wi% allows users
to transfer a %lient session 2etween OpenSimulator
installations' Tis is a federated server system - one
installation osts te user4s appearan%e! inventory and oter
information and provides tis to oter OpenSimulator
installations re%eiving te user4s session' Ea% installation
remains independent ? te =ypergrid system %an 2e disa2led at
any time for any parti%ular system witout loss of data or
features! oter tan te a2ility to transfer a user session to a
different OpenSimulator installation'
Tis paper des%ri2es ow OpenSimulator is set up to use
te =ypergrid system and ow a %lient session is transferred'
II' I-ST@66@TIO-
A. Switching on the Hypergrid INI file
Te =ypergrid system is implemented on an
OpenSimulator installation via a num2er of software modules'
Terefore! ena2ling it is a matter of %onfiguring said modules'
Configuration is performed via I-I-style files' In fa%t! te
=ypergrid system as its own I-I files wi% are in%luded via
te main OpenSimulator %onfiguration file! known as
OpenSim'ini'
OpenSimulator as two 2asi% ar%ite%tures! 9standalone;
were te entire simulator and its servi%es are e<e%uted witin
a single pro%ess! and 9grid;! were + or more simulator
pro%esses and one or more servi%e pro%esses %an 2e run
independently! potentially on different ardware' Bot tese
ar%ite%tures are %ompati2le wit te =ypergrid system'
Aor simpli%ity! I am going to use te 9standalone;
ar%ite%ture in tis paper' Tis is done 2y setting
In%lude-@r%ite%ture B
C%onfig-in%ludeDStandalone=ypergrid'iniC
in te 0@r%ite%ture1 se%tion of OpenSim'ini
B. Configuring the Hypergrid INI file
Te =ypergrid I-I file %an ten 2e %onfigured to allow
e<ternal a%%ess to te system 2y oter OpenSimulator
installations' Tis is %urrently done 2y setting ".I entries of
te form S.VEFservi%e nameG".I in te 06oginServi%e1
se%tion'
Aor instan%e! if te installation was a%%essi2le 2y te fully
Hualified domain name 3AI/-5 9e<ample'%om;! ten te
entries would look like
06oginServi%e1
S.VE=ome".I B 9ttpJDDe<ample'%omJK***;
S.VEInventoryServer".I B 9ttpJDDe<ample'%omJK***;
S.VE@ssetServer".I B 9ttpJDDe<ample'%omJK***;
Te S.VE=ome".I tells te foreign installation wi%
".I to %onta%t to autenti%ate an in%oming %lient session
transfer' Te S.VEInventoryServer".I and
S.VE@ssetServer".I entries tell te foreign simulator wi%
endpoints to %onta%t to e<tra%t asset and inventory information'
Tis is used to re%reate te avatar4s normal appearan%e on te
foreign OpenSimulator installation and to allow tem to %reate
o2$e%ts and user o2$e%ts tat are atta%ed to teir avatar'
III' CO:LO-E-TS
Aor te sake of tis se%tion! a 9ome; installation is te
OpenSimulator installation on wi% te user4s inventory!
appearan%e and oter aspe%ts of teir identity reside' @
9foreign; installation is an independent OpenSimulator
installation to wi% teir session as 2een transferred'
Te =ypergrid system %onsists of a num2er of %omponents
tat manage fa%ilities su% as a%%ess to autenti%ation and
a%%ess to inventory from foreign installations' Aor te sake of
simpli%ity! in tis paper we will only des%ri2e te servi%es
reHuired for transferring a %lient session from a ome to a
foreign installation' @s su%! te servi%es tat we are
%on%erned wit are te ome and foreign simulators! te ome
and foreign grid servi%es! te ome user agents servi%e! te
foreign gatekeeper servi%e and te foreign presen%e servi%e'
A. The Home and foreign simulators
In OpenSimulator parlan%e! a simulator is te pro%ess
wi% maintains and updates simulation state information and
%ommuni%ates wit ,/ %lients' Simulation state information
%an 2e updated eiter due to e<ogenous user a%tions 3e'g' a user
attempts to move teir avatar forwards5 or from endogenous
pro%esses 3e'g' a pysi%s pro%ess were a 2all rolls downill
wit no oter intervention5'
Simulators %an ost one or more regions! were a region is
a %ontainer for a parti%ular area %onsisting of terrain! o2$e%ts
and avatars'
In te =ypergrid-fa%ilitated session transfer tat we will
dis%uss! te user4s avatar moves from a ome simulator to a
foreign simulator' @spe%ts of identity 3e'g' user appearan%e!
inventory5 %ontinue to 2e availa2le on te foreign simulator
witin tat session'
B. Home and foreign grid services
@n OpenSimulator grid servi%e is responsi2le for resolving
a reHuest for a parti%ular region name to te simulator tat
osts it' In our e<ample! sin%e we are using a standalone
ar%ite%ture tis is always te same pro%ess tat runs te grid
servi%e' =owever! on more %ompli%ated distri2uted
ar%ite%tures! simulators %an 2e osted on different ma%ines'
C. Home user agents service
Te ome user agents servi%e initiates te reHuest to
transfer te %lient session to te foreign simulator and
autenti%ates tis transfer reHuest'
D. oreign gate!eeper service
Te foreign gatekeeper servi%e is responsi2le for pro%essing
an in%oming session transfer reHuest and %o-ordinating %alls to
te foreign presen%e servi%e and simulator to fa%ilitate te
transfer'
". oreign presence service
Te presen%e servi%e is responsi2le for re%ording and
providing information a2out a user4s session on an
OpenSimulator installation! weter te user is lo%al to tat
installation or foreign'
IV' T.@-SAE..I-M @ C6IE-T SESSIO-
We will des%ri2e te pro%ess of transferring a %lient session
from a ome OpenSimulator installation to a foreign
installation as a seHuen%e of steps'
+' Te first step in moving a %lient session is for te user to
reHuest a transfer to a parti%ular lo%ation via teir %lient' Often!
tis will 2e in te form of an address su% as
9foreigngrid'%omJN**,Jregion +; were
9foreigngrid'%omJN**,; is te address of a foreign gatekeeper
servi%e and 9region +; is te name of te foreign destination
region on a foreign simulator'
)' Te ome simulator asks te ome grid servi%e to
%onta%t te foreigngrid'%omJN**, and return te ".6 of te
simulator tat osts 9region +;'
,' Tis reHuest is andled 2y te foreign gatekeeper servi%e
wi% %onsults its own grid servi%e'
8' Te ome user agents servi%e ten reHuests tat te
foreign gatekeeper servi%e initiate te transfer' Te =ome".I!
@ssetServer".I and InventoryServer".I parameters are
passed along to te foreign gatekeeper servi%e'
>' Te foreign gatekeeper servi%e %alls 2a%k te ome user
agent servi%e via te =ome".I to verify tat te transfer
reHuest is autenti%'
O' If te reHuest is autenti%! te foreign gatekeeper servi%e
ten adds a session entry to te foreign servi%e and %onta%ts te
foreign simulator to prepare it for an in%oming %lient
%onne%tion'
P' Te ome user agents servi%e informs te user4s %lient
tat it sould %onne%t to te foreign simulator address'
N' Te %lient esta2lises a new %onne%tion wit te foreign
simulator and te avatar is free to a%t in te foreign region'
K' Te foreign simulator reHuests avatar asset and
inventory information 3e'g' serialiQed o2$e%ts tat are atta%ed
to te avatar5 in order to display te user4s avatar as it appeared
on teir ome simulator' Tis is done via te @ssetServer".I
and InventoryServer".I endpoints tat were transferred as part
of te %lient session'
Su2seHuently! te user %an ten %reate items from teir
inventory on te foreign region and takes %opies of o2$e%ts
already tere! su2$e%t to te appropriate permissions on te
foreign simulator' @gain! tese a%tions are performed 2y
%onta%ting te user4s ome inventory and asset servi%es' By
default! inventory information transfer is limited to a 4suit%ase4
folder 2elonging to te user'
V' CO-SEI"E-CES @-/ .EA6ECTIO-S
Te session transfer me%anism des%ri2ed a2ove allows for
te %reation of a s%ala2le de%entraliQed virtual environment
system were no single entity a%ts as a %entral point of %ontrol'
:oreover! te session transfer me%anism allows users to
retain teir identity! via teir user name and appearan%e! and
te a2ility to a%%ess and write to teir inventory of virtual
environment o2$e%ts 0O1'
Tis is in %ontrast to pra%ti%ally all %ommer%ial and
open-sour%e virtual environments' In te %ase of %ommer%ial
virtual environments! su% as Se%ond 6ife and World of
War%raft! tere is often only a single instan%e of te
environment wi% is osted 2y te operator temselves' @s
su%! te operator retains a monopoly on a%%ess and use of te
environment' In addition! Huestions over te ownersip and
prote%tion of intelle%tual property %reated on te platform 2y
users %an 2e e<tremely %ontentious 0O1'
Open-sour%e virtual environments! su% as Lro$e%t
Wonderland and real7tend! do alleviate tese pro2lem' "sers
%an install independent instan%es of te environment and en%e
allow and restri%t a%%ess and use as tey see fit! witout
restri%ting oter users4 freedom' Tey unam2iguously retain
%ontrol over te intelle%tual property tey %reate on teir own
software installation'
=owever! any parti%ular installation of su% an
environment is isolated from any oter installation' Te only
way to s%ale su% a system is to add more server and storage
%apa%ity to a single installation' Tus! su% s%aling is
%ontrolled and as to 2e approved 2y te entity operating te
system' In addition! te entire system remains vulnera2le to a
failure of te network asso%iated wit tat single installation'
In %ontrast! session transfer allows an environment to 2e
s%aled in an ad-o%! de%entraliQed manner' @ny individual or
organiQation %an install an OpenSimulator instan%e at any time
and invite oter users to visit tat instan%e via =ypergrid
session transfer' EHually! tey %an also visit any oter
=ypergrid-a%%essi2le OpenSimulator instan%e via teir own
installation'
:oreover! te session transfer me%anism allows users to
retain teir avatar identity! via teir user name and appearan%e!
and te a2ility to read and write teir inventory of virtual
environment o2$e%ts wen moving 2etween separate
installations' Tis means tat te %lassi% virtual environment
so%ial and %olla2orative use %ases are retained 0P1'
In tis way! session transfer results in a distri2uted virtual
environment wi% is more akin to te We2 tan to te
%entraliQed systems tat ave %ara%teriQed virtual
environments tus far' In parti%ular! it aims to ave te same
%ara%teristi%s of a low entry-2arrier! e<tensi2ility! anar%i%
s%ala2ility and independent deployment 0N1'
Tis distri2uted ar%ite%ture! toug! also 2rings wit it
signifi%ant se%urity! priva%y and intelle%tual property issues'
To some e<tent se%urity issues are 2eing addressed wit
innovations in te =ypergrid me%anism su% as allowing
inventory transfer from only a single inventory folder wen te
user is on a foreign OpenSimulator installation! as des%ri2ed
earlier' =owever! oter issues su% as user impersonation
remain'
Te session transfer me%anism also results in some loss of
priva%y' In a %entraliQed system! te virtual environment
operator %an keep potentially identifying %onne%tion details
su% as te user4s Internet Lroto%ol 3IL5 address %onfidential'
In te distri2uted system des%ri2ed! te re%eiving simulator
as a%%ess to te user4s IL address in order to e<%ange data
wit tem' Weter tis needs to 2e resolved remains to 2e
seen! parti%ularly as te same issues are true of te We2'
.egarding intelle%tual property! altoug tere is mu% less
am2iguity as to te ownersip of intelle%tual property wen it
is %reated on te user4s own system! a distri2uted virtual
environment tat allows inventory transfer does 2ring in oter
issues' Aor instan%e! wat %ontrols and li%enses %an 2e
realisti%ally applied to %opies of virtual o2$e%ts taken 2y
visitors from oter OpenSimulator instan%esR Tese are
e<treme important future topi%s to resolve wit respe%t to te
%ommer%ialiQation and fair use of virtual o2$e%ts in a
distri2uted system were tere is no single entity to enfor%e
%ontrols'
Second #ife is a trademar!s of #inden $esearch% Inc.
The pu&lished version of this paper can &e found at '()*.
.EAE.E-CES
0+1 OpenSimulator pro$e%t! ttpJDDopensimulator'org'
0)1 6inden .esear%! Se%ond 6ife! ttpJDDse%ondlife'%om
0,1 Open Wonderland pro$e%t! ttpJDDopenwonderland'org
081 real7tend pro$e%t! ttpJDDreal<tend'org
0>1 6opes C! 9=ypergridJ @r%ite%ture and Lroto%ol for Virtual World
Interopera2ility;! IEEE Internet Computing! vol' +> issue >! pp ))-)K!
Septem2er )*++'
0O1 Clark-Casey! Justin! 9S%aling OpenSimulator J
@n E<amination of Lossi2le @r%ite%tures for an
Internet-s%ale Virtual Environment -etwork;! :asters dissertation!
"niversity of O<ford! )*+*!
ttpJDD$ustin%%'orgDdownloadsDdo%sD$ustin%%-dissertation'pdf
0P1 Mil2ert! Brendan James! Te Se%ond 6ife of Intelle%tual Lroperty 3June
P! )**K5' @vaila2le at SS.-J ttpJDDssrn'%omDa2stra%tB+8*K*K+ or
ttpJDDd<'doi'orgD+*')+,KDssrn'+8*K*K+
0N1 Es%en2renner! Brenda! Aiona Aui-=oon -a and #eng Siau' C,-/
Virtual Worlds in Edu%ationJ @ppli%ations! Benefits! Issues! and
Opportunities'C +D, +K'8 3)**N5J K+-++*' We2' + Jul' )*+,'
doiJ+*'8*+ND$dm')**N+**+*O
0K1 Aielding! .oy Tomas Aielding' @r%ite%tural Styles and te /esign of
-etwork-2ased
Software @r%ite%tures! "niversity of California! Irvine! )***!
ttpJDDwww'i%s'u%i'eduDSfieldingDpu2sDdissertationDtop'tm
0+*1 9Transferring a Virtual Environment Client Session 2etween
Independent Opensimulator Installations 9! IEEE! )*+,!
ttpJDDieee<plore'ieee'orgD<plDarti%le/etails'$spR
arnum2erBOO)8)8OTpunum2erU,/OO)+)8>U)OsortType
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