Distributed Systems

Lecturer: Dr J.M. Bacon (jmb@cl.cam.ac.uk)

No. of lectures: 8

Prerequisite courses: Concurrent Systems, Operating System Functions, Digital Communication, Introduction to Security

Aims

The aims of this course are to study the fundamental characteristics of distributed systems; their models and architectures; the design of distributed algorithms and applications that exploit rapidly evolving technology.

Lectures

Please check the web version of the syllabus for any changes before the course starts in April 2000.

• Introduction. Characteristics specific to distributed systems. Software design. Client-server and object models. Distribution transparency. Security requirements (implementation details are covered in the Security course).

• Algorithms and application protocols. Consistency of data. Asynchronous and synchronous algorithms. Atomic commitment protocols. Process groups. Election. Mutual exclusion.

• Time. Physical and logical time. Event ordering. Clock synchronisation. Message delivery ordering.

• Naming. Design of names, pure or hierarchical. Interpretation of names in a context. Binding. Long-term consistency.

• Access control. Capabilities in distributed systems. Role-based access control.

• Communication. Revision of distributed IPC. Overview of synchronous middleware platforms. Asynchronous platforms - events.

• Storage. Design issues for network-based storage services.

• Applications. Active office, home and city. Events, composite events, mobility and location-tracking. Electronic health service.

Objectives

At the end of the course students should

• understand the properties of distributed systems

• understand the architectural components and their design

• understand some basic distributed algorithms and the assumptions on which they are based

• be aware of some emerging application areas

Recommended books

Coulouris, G.F., Dollimore, J.B. & Kindberg, T. (1994). Distributed Systems, Concepts and Design. Addison-Wesley (2nd ed.).
Tanenbaum, A.S. (1995). Distributed Operating Systems. Prentice-Hall.
Mullender, S. (ed.) (1993). Distributed Systems. Addison-Wesley (2nd ed.).
Bacon, J. (1997). Concurrent Systems. Addison-Wesley (2nd ed.).