Imagine a world where your computer, mobile, gaming console, TV, music system and other devices in your home all play nicely together. You can watch videos & pictures taken by your mobile or digital camera on your big TV screen, and listen to music from your portable device on your Hi-Fi sound system, …. wirelessly!. This is possible already due to Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) which is a set of networking protocols bringing us one step closer to convergence of home electronics.
UPnP:
UPnP standards are defined by the UPnP forum which has more than 889 members which include companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Samsung, Nokia, IBM, Intel and many more. UPnP forum aims to create an open environment for interoperable device services using common technologies such as TCP, UDP, SOAP and XML.
UPnP in Home Networking:
The illustration above shows how music/video/files are shared among various devices at home.
There are more than 3000 UPnP certified products world wide. UPnP device and service standards have been defined and published for internet gateways & routers, audio-video media devices, printers, scanners and wireless LAN access points.
What is unique about UPnP plug and play technology?
UPnP architecture is more than just a simple extension of the plug-and-play model.
- UPnP supports zero configuration which means user does not need to configure anything manually. This enables a device to dynamically join a network, obtain an IP address, and convey its capabilities upon request. A device can leave a network smoothly and automatically when it is no longer in use.
- UPnP technology is independent of any particular operating system or programming language.
- UPnP technology can run on any medium including phone line, power line, ethernet and RF.
- Vendors use any operating system and any programming language to build UPnP-based products.
- UPnP technology is built upon Internet based technologies such as IP, TCP, UDP, HTTP, and XML.
UPnP does suffer from issues such as lack of lightweight authentication protocol & the fact that UPnP uses HTTP over UDP even though it is not standardised.
DLNA
Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a newer standard than UPnP & uses some of the UPnP specification and protocols. In some way we can say DLNA is built on top of UPnP. DLNA also aims to achieve interoperable network of consumer electronics, personal computers (PC) and mobile devices in home and on the road enabling seamless environment for enjoying new digital media and content services.
DLNA goes a step further as you see in the illustration above to enable access to their devices from anywhere at home or outside.
UPnP / DLNA Devices
Right out of the box, a Windows PC can operate as a UPnP AV client through the use of Windows Media Player’s Window Media Connect feature, and for the Mac there is MediaCloud.
But the fun really starts when we get into non-PC UPnP clients. Both the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 can operate as a UPnP AV client. Philips, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba are already including the UPnP technology in their new TVs.
Amongst mobile devices, many of Nokia’s N-Series devices such as N95 8GB, N96, N79, N82, N85 & N86 are UPnP & DLNA certified. Samsung i8510, Samsung Omnia HD, Sony Ericsson W705 & Sony Ericsson C905 are DLNA certified as well.
Apple has its own technology, dubbed Bonjour, which competes with UPnP, but does similar things.
You can find a list of DLNA certified devices here. Now the next time you buy a electronic device for your home, don’t forget to check for the “DLNA Certified” logo on your device!
