DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS-英文文献.pdf

SPECIALISSUE DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS Growth of distributed systemshas attained unstoppable momentum. If we better understood how to think about, analyze, and design distributed systems,we could direct their implementation with more confidence. LEONARD KLEINROCK DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS IN NATURE we bridge the gap in understanding and implementa- How did the killer bees find thfeir way up to North tion (see Figure 1, pp. 1202-1203). America? By what mechanism does a colony of ants carry out its complex tasks? What guides and controls a WHY SHOULD WE STUDY flock of birds or a school of fish? The answers to these DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS? questions involve examples of loosely coupled systems Currently we are experiencing the effects of the con- that achieve a common goal with distributed control. fluence of powerful forces in information technology. Throughout nature we find an enormous amount of By far, the most significant effect is the host of revolu- processing taking place at the level of the individual tionary changes that have been brought about by the organism (be it an ant, a sparrow, or a human), and we integrated chip-especially in the form of VLSI and the have only begun to comprehend how processing and resulting enormous improvements in processing, memory functions operate, especially in the human