Replication Heuristics and Polling Algorithms for Object Replicationand a Replicating File Transfer Protocol

This paper deals with the dynamic regulation of the level of replication in distributed systems, and leads to the introduction of replication-heuristics therefore. The question of which replica of an object should be referenced by operations when several copies are provided at diierent remote sites in the net is also addressed. Polling-algorithms performing this choice will also be presented. Replication-heuristics and polling-algorithms are an important research eld in distributed, replicating systems but not adequately treated yet. The purpose of this work is to present possible solutions for these two problems and to suggest how the area should further be studied. As an important application of replication-heuristics and polling-algorithms, a replicating le transfer protocol (RFTP) is proposed.