Introduction
Xbox One is a console that is used for games and is an innovation and manufactured by Microsoft. This development is an improvement to the Xbox 360 and is the third console development in the overall Xbox family. This game console was announced on 21 May 2013 and released to Europe, America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the remaining parts of Europe. Xbox One network game console is regarded as an all-in-one entertainment and poses a major competition to such popular game platforms like Apple TV and Google TV platforms.
There are limitations that led to the development of this game platform. This new platform is developed to overcome the players’ experience. The players can continue playing and watching the TV without having to stop the game. This was achieved by integrating the gaming operating system with the Windows operating system. With this integration, it is possible to get the best out of the Windows and out of the game without compromising any of the platforms. In total, there are three operating systems that will be running in the console. The three operating systems will be running on the console. The three operating systems include Xbox OS, an OS which will be running on the Widows kernel and a third operating system which will enable the two operating systems to communicate with one another through virtualization. This will enable the players to have multiple apps simultaneously without having to switch off another app. The Xbox console has been developed to balance well with the three architectures it has. These architectures are the CPU, GPU, and ESRAM.
The technologies that were used in the development of Xbox Network moved away from the PowerPC-architecture. The architecture was built based on x86 architecture; this was used in the first Xbox console. The features were built on the AMD processor which was integrated on the x-86-64 instruction set. Xbox One focused more on the integration of the entertainment so that there is the ability to split the screen and enable multitasking while playing the game. With this, it is possible to overlay the programming of a live television program from a set-up box that is in existence and the support of second screen which is improved. The console has the integration of Kinect motion sensing support. This is in peripheral. This capability was not included in the initial Xbox 360 console.
Networking technologies used
Xbox One makes use of cloud computing technology. Cloud computing is a technology that enables services and data that are stored in a data center to be accessed through the use of the internet. With this technology, one can use any device to get access to the data and information by using the internet. With this technology, players can install the games in their profiles in the cloud and play from any location. This is because they will just have to access the cloud and access the games they have installed in their accounts in the cloud. With this, they will be able to have their games and their favorites from any device. This is possible because there is a digital copy of the game that is stored in the cloud and also in the Xbox One that the owner has. The player will just make sure that they have the credentials to their account which will enable them to play from any location. This networking technology also enables the players to start playing the games when they first buy them.
The network type that is used by this console is peer to peer (P2P). P2P networks enable communications to be achieved between gamers.
Network protocols used in Xbox One network
Xbox One network makes use IPv6 protocol. One of the benefits of using this protocol is that there is simplified connectivity of the peers that are found on the internet. This is the advantage that Xbox One takes. This is the reason why IPv6 may be used by Xbox One as a connectivity mechanism if this protocol is available. The features that are possessed by Xbox suit the working of the IPv6 (Huang 72).
There is also the use of IPSec protocol with this game console. The traffic and the safety of the gaming are important in internet games. This is the reason why IPSec is used with Xbox One console. There is a need to control and maintain the integrity of the traffic while playing the game. The transport mode IPsec is mostly used to control the flow of peer to peer traffic in many Xbox games. In most situations, IKEv2 is used as a security mechanism in these games. IPsec is a better security mechanism and offers the much required flexibility when dealing with peer to peer game traffic. This is better than the packet filtering mechanism that is done at the network gateways. There is, therefore, the need to enable IPsec flows in IPv6 that are used in residential networks.
Teleredo is used in most networks because IPv6 is not globally available in most internet markets. There is a need to ensure that players are not limited by the network configurations and availability. For consumers that do not have IPv6 in their places, there will be the use of Teleredo to provide peer to peer connections. Teleredo is a transition technology that enables consumers to get a tunneled IPv6 connection for P2P connections. This is a service that enables the clients to get connections even with lack of enhanced connections and the lack of IPv6.
How to use Xbox One network
With the use of cloud technology, there are two ways in which one can use the Xbox One. One way is to have the discs which can be used by the gamers to install and play from desktop environments. This will require the gamer to have the Xbox One device and the discs which will be used to install (Andrews, and Baker 53).
Another method that can be used to play is cloud computing platform. With this option, the gamers will play online and will be required to register for an account with Xbox One online platform. With this, they will be able to install the Xbox One games in their online platform. After this registration, they will be able to access other services in the network and from Microsoft Corporation. With the registration and the development of an account, the gamers will be able to play the game with their friends and from any location. They will be able to use the online version of the game and will be able to play with friends who are far away.
Xbox One offers the gamers the following services:
Cloud availability – cloud availability allows gamers to have worlds that will be available even if the owners are not playing. This is because the developers of Xbox One integrate worlds which are evolving. This is possible with the connectivity of Xbox One owners to the internet. It is required that the Xbox One owners have broadband connectivity so that they will be able access the online version of their profiles.
Connected-state connectivity - the Xbox has been designed in such a way that it is always ready to be run. This means that the updates are installed automatically and the gamers will not need to get the updates that are needed. This is where the platform is always in ready state.
Social network availability – Xbox One has been designed in such a way that the gamers can play the games while they are chatting with their friends. This is enabled with the use of Skype. This is enabled in Snap mode so that the gamers are able to chat with their family members and friends. They are also able to watch TV while they are playing the game. The gamers are also able to watch group video while the game is going on (Huang 271).
Accessibility of games library from any Xbox One device – Gamers are able to play games when they have registered and logged into the account. They do not have to carry the discs around.
Buying the game one wants – with Xbox One, the gamers are able to buy the online digital copy or the traditional disc-based game. These services are all available with the development.
Xbox One network security
There is a need to ensure that the online platform of the game is secured. Hackers have been able to hack into Xbox One NAND. There has been easy success of attack for hackers to get into Xbox One console. The reason for this is that the console has been built on x86 kernels which has been there for long and the hackers have had time to play with it. Hackers have been able to outdo the security features of x86 kernel and did away with Xbox One console. With the increase in the use of online games, network attacks have been a commonplace.
This called for security professionals at Microsoft to look for ways to secure the system. It was postulated, during the launch that the security of the Xbox One was going to be weak. This has been eradicated with the security team of Microsoft introducing a way in which accounts are verified before they are used by the customers. There is the provision of online security and methods that are used to curb hacking. To ensure that the security of the gamers was assured, there was the need to enact policies and security procedures that enabled gamers to undertake their games in a secure environment. The process of authentication was improved together with the need to have copyright protection of the content. With this, gamers have been able to have their content and play profiles protected with copyright keys. This has enabled gamers to have a secure playing environment. This process of providing security has been enabled with the overhaul of the whole console.
Works Cited
Andrews, Jeff, and Nick Baker. "Xbox 360 system architecture." Micro, IEEE26.2 (2006): 25-37.
Huang, Andrew. "Keeping Secrets in Hardware: The Microsoft XBoxTM Case Study." Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems-CHES 2002. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2003. 213-227.
Huang, Andrew. Hacking the Xbox: an introduction to reverse engineering. No Starch Press, 2003.
