Client/Server distributed processing using SunOS remote procedure protocol
Over the last ten years the development of PC's and workstations has changed the way computing is performed. Previously, extensive computations were performed on large high speed mainframe machines with substantial storage capacity. Large capital and operational costs were associated with these machines. The advent of more powerful workstations has brought more computational cycles to the users at lower cost than was achieved with busy timesharing systems. However, many users still can't afford individual special purpose hardware or gigabytes of storage. A successful distributed processing environment must share these resources. Client/Server models have been proposed to address the issues of shared resources. They are not a new idea, but their implementation has been difficult. With the introduction of SUN's public domain Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Protocol and SUN's interface generator, RPCGEN, their implementation has been made easier. SUN has developed a set of C'' callable routines that handle the Client/Server operations. The availability of Network File System (NFS) on the SRL CRAY and the arrival of Wollongong's latest version of NFS has allowed applications and information sharing between computing platforms. This paper reviews the Client/Server model with respect to SUN's RPC implementation. The discussion will focus on the RPC connection between local and remote machines, the RPC Paradigm for making remote procedure calls, and the programming levels of the RPC libraries. The paper will conclude with summaries of two applications developed at SRL using the protocol and their effect on our computing environment. These include the Nuclear Plant Analyzer and an animation of fluids using behavioral simulation of atom-like particles.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (USA)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/DP
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-89SR18035
- OSTI ID:
- 6274122
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-90-217; CONF-9010256-2; ON: DE91005120
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1990 computer symposium, Pittsburgh, PA (USA), Oct - Nov 1990
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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