Programming Storage-centric Sensor Networks with Squirrel

We present SQUIRREL, a stream-oriented programming framework for storage-centric sensor networks. The storage- centric paradigm—where storage operations prevail over communication activity—applies to scenarios such as batch data collection, delay-tolerant mobile applications, and disconnected operations in static networks. SQUIRREL simplifies developing such applications by decoupling data processing from storage, and by transparently handling the latter. We achieve this through: i) a modular programming abstraction, and ii) a lightweight run-time layer that efficiently allocates data to different storage areas, based on size vs. energy trade- offs. We demonstrate SQUIRREL’s effectiveness based on three real-world applications, each representing a different storage-centric scenario. The results show that—while relieving programmers from a significant burden—SQUIRREL achieves efficient utilization of storage areas, enabling energy savings independently of the storage technology.