Summary: The Maintenance of Common Data in a Distributed
System \Lambda
Baruch Awerbuch y
M.I.T.
Leonard J. Schulman z
M.I.T.
Abstract
A basic task in distributed computation is the maintenance at each processor of the
network, of a current and accurate copy of a common database. A primary example is the
maintenance, for routing and other purposes, of a record of the current topology of the
system.
Such a database must be updated in the wake of locally generated changes to its
contents. Due to previous disconnections of parts of the network, a maintenance protocol
may need to update processors holding widely varying versions of the database.
We provide a deterministic protocol for this problem, with only polylogarithmic over­
head in both time and communication complexities. Previous deterministic solutions re­
quired polynomial overhead in at least one of these measures.
\Lambda Journal of the ACM, 44(1) 86­103 January 1997.
Computing Reviews Category C.2 (Computer­Communication Networks).
Keywords: distributed computing, distributed databases, network management, topology update, routing.

Source: Abu-Mostafa, Yaser S. - Department of Mechanical Engineering & Computer Science Department, California Institute of Technology

Collections: Computer Technologies and Information Sciences