New Advances In Distributed Computer Systems

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Bonas, France, June 15-26, 1981

In 1992 we initiated a research project on large scale distributed computing systems (LSDCS). It was a collaborative project involving research institutes and universities in Bologna, Grenoble, Lausanne, Lisbon, Rennes, Rocquencourt, Newcastle, and Twente. The World Wide Web had recently been developed at CERN, but its use was not yet as common place as it is today and graphical browsers had yet to be developed. It was clear to us (and to just about everyone else) that LSDCS comprising several thousands to millions of individual computer systems (nodes) would be coming into existence as a consequence both of technological advances and the demands placed by applications. We were excited about the problems of building large distributed systems, and felt that serious rethinking of many of the existing computational paradigms, algorithms, and structuring principles for distributed computing was called for. In our research proposal, we summarized the problem domain as follows: “We expect LSDCS to exhibit great diversity of node and communications capability. Nodes will range from (mobile) laptop computers, workstations to supercomputers. Whereas mobile computers may well have unreliable, low bandwidth communications to the rest of the system, other parts of the system may well possess high bandwidth communications capability. To appreciate the problems posed by the sheer scale of a system comprising thousands of nodes, we observe that such systems will be rarely functioning in their entirety.

The functionality of distributed computing systems has advanced greatly in recent months, and staying abreast of the latest research within the field is difficult. Technology Integration Advancements in Distributed Systems and Computing offers a vital compendium of research and developments within the field of distributed computing, giving case studies, frameworks, architectures, and best practices for academics and practitioners alike. With authors from around the world and the latest research from experts within the field, this resource acts as both a reference guide and research handbook.

The primary audience for this book are advanced undergraduate students and graduate students. Computer architecture, as it happened in other fields such as electronics, evolved from the small to the large, that is, it left the realm of low-level hardware constructs, and gained new dimensions, as distributed systems became the keyword for system implementation. As such, the system architect, today, assembles pieces of hardware that are at least as large as a computer or a network router or a LAN hub, and assigns pieces of software that are self-contained, such as client or server programs, Java applets or pro tocol modules, to those hardware components. The freedom she/he now has, is tremendously challenging. The problems alas, have increased too. What was before mastered and tested carefully before a fully-fledged mainframe or a closely-coupled computer cluster came out on the market, is today left to the responsibility of computer engineers and scientists invested in the role of system architects, who fulfil this role on behalf of software vendors and in tegrators, add-value system developers, R&D institutes, and final users. As system complexity, size and diversity grow, so increases the probability of in consistency, unreliability, non responsiveness and insecurity, not to mention the management overhead. What System Architects Need to Know The insight such an architect must have includes but goes well beyond, the functional properties of distributed systems.

An invited collection of peer-reviewed papers surveying key areas of Roger Needham's distinguished research career at Cambridge University and Microsoft Research. From operating systems to distributed computing, many of the world's leading researchers provide insight into the latest concepts and theoretical insights--many of which are based upon Needham's pioneering research work. A critical collection of edited-survey research papers spanning the entire range of Roger Needham's distinguished scientific career, from operating systems to distributed computing and security. Many of the world's leading researchers survey their topics' latest developments and acknowledge the theoretical foundations of Needham's work. Introduction to book written by Rick Rashid, Director of Microsoft Research Worldwide.

Simulation is a multi-disciplinary field, and significant simulation research is dispersed across multiple fields of study. Distributed computer systems, software design methods, and new simulation techniques offer synergistic multipliers when joined together in a distributed simulation. Systems of most interest to the simulation practitioner are often the most difficult to model and implement. Distributed Simulation brings together the many complex technologies for distributed simulation. There is strong emphasis on emerging simulation methodologies, including object-oriented, multilevel, and multi-resolution simulation. Finally, one concise text provides a strong foundation for the development of high fidelity simulations in heterogeneous distributed computing environments!

In 1992 we initiated a research project on large scale distributed computing systems (LSDCS). It was a collaborative project involving research institutes and universities in Bologna, Grenoble, Lausanne, Lisbon, Rennes, Rocquencourt, Newcastle, and Twente. The World Wide Web had recently been developed at CERN, but its use was not yet as common place as it is today and graphical browsers had yet to be developed. It was clear to us (and to just about everyone else) that LSDCS comprising several thousands to millions of individual computer systems (nodes) would be coming into existence as a consequence both of technological advances and the demands placed by applications. We were excited about the problems of building large distributed systems, and felt that serious rethinking of many of the existing computational paradigms, algorithms, and structuring principles for distributed computing was called for. In our research proposal, we summarized the problem domain as follows: “We expect LSDCS to exhibit great diversity of node and communications capability. Nodes will range from (mobile) laptop computers, workstations to supercomputers. Whereas mobile computers may well have unreliable, low bandwidth communications to the rest of the system, other parts of the system may well possess high bandwidth communications capability. To appreciate the problems posed by the sheer scale of a system comprising thousands of nodes, we observe that such systems will be rarely functioning in their entirety.