Chapter 13. UPnP
In this chapter…
Industry forecasts indicate explosive growth in the number of homes with multiple PCs, and many homes soon will be geographically served by commodity broadband Internet access (cable, xDSL). Set-top boxes, networked entertainment appliances, and other smart devices are evolving with the growth of the Internet and improved bandwidth availability to the home. Moreover, anticipating the increased demand for new services, PC manufacturers are beginning to ship computers with built-in support for Ethernet, IEEE 1394, radio frequency (RF), powerline carrier, or phoneline connectivity that makes it possible to add home networking without adding new wires. As these trends converge to create a requirement for home networking, simplicity of installation and usage, low cost, security, and reliability all become critical elements of any solution that addresses this market. It is against this background that Microsoft is sponsoring a cross-industry initiative called Universal Plug and Play (UPnP).