Universal Plug and Play

BILLY VEE SOUND SYSTEMS

Universal Plug and Play

Universal Plug and Play – A brief description
UPnP allows networked PC’s, appliances and wireless devices to interact with each other. It is a distributed, open architecture based on established standards such as TCP/IP.

A UPnP compatible device from any vendor can dynamically join a network, obtain an IP address, announce its name, convey its capabilities upon request, and learn about the presence and capabilities of other devices. Devices can also leave the network automatically without leaving any unwanted information behind.

Other UPnP features include:

Media and device independence
UPnP technology can run on media that supports Internet Protocol including power lines, Ethernet, RF (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth), etc. No special driver support is necessary; common protocols are used instead. UPnP architecture enables vendor control over Device User Interface by interaction using the web browser so you can set up your device such as your router this way.

Operating system and programming language independence
Any operating system and any programming language can be used to build UPnP products. UPnP does not specify or constrain the design of an Application Interface. Vendors may create APIs that suit their customer's needs. UPnP enables vendor control over device User Interface and interaction using the browser as well as conventional application programmatic control.

The foundation for UPnP networking is IP addressing. Each device must have a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) client and search for a DHCP server when the device is first connected to the network. If no DHCP server is available, that is, the network is unmanaged, the device must assign itself an address.

Discovery Protocol
Given an IP address, the first step in UPnP networking is discovery. When a device is added to the network, the UPnP discovery protocol allows that device to advertise its services to control points on the network. Similarly, when a control point is added to the network, the UPnP discovery protocol allows that control point to search for devices of interest on the network. The fundamental exchange in both cases is a discovery message containing a few, essential specifics about the device or one of its services.

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