One way to implement adaptive software is to allocate resources dynamically during run-time rather than statically at design time. Design of adaptive software and adaptive execution of processes are key factors that improve versatility of software and decrease maintenance costs. In this chapter we study the development of adaptive software focusing on a design strategy for the implementation of parallel media servers with an adaptable behaviour. This strategy makes the timing properties and the quality of presentation of a set of media streams predictable. The proposed adaptive scheduling approach exploits the performance of parallel environments and seems a promising method that brings the advantages of parallel computation in media servers. The proposed mechanism provides deterministic service for both Constant Bit Rate (CBR) and Variable Bit Rate (VBR) streams. We present an efficient placement strategy for data frames as well as an adaptability strategy that allows appropriate frames to be dropped without sacrificing the ability to present multimedia applications predictably in time.
