Real-Time Distributed Computer Systems

Publisher Summary This chapter describes real-time distributed computer systems in regard to their design and implementation. It discusses the motivation for distributed computer systems in terms of possible system characteristics attained by distributing the computational resources. The chapter also characterizes the real-time control application environment. Further, the chapter reviews the options and issues related to hardware and software designs for distributed systems, and examines the details of the design and implementation of the Honeywell Experimental Distributed Computing System (HXDP). Distributed computer systems essentially contain several computers and provide increased system availability and reliability. Their design is complex, involving the design of communications mechanisms in hardware and software, and the selection of policies and mechanisms for distributed system control. However, the complex design issues can have simple solutions in a well-understood application environment. Distributed systems are considered attractive as they provide efficiency, modularity, robustness to failure, and extensibility. Moreover, for real-time environments, these systems allow physical distribution of functionality, placing computing power at places where required.

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