An asynchronous message-passing distributed algorithm for the global critical section problem

This paper considers the global $(l,k)$-CS problem which is the problem of controlling the system in such a way that, at least $l$ and at most $k$ processes must be in the CS at a time in the network. In this paper, a distributed solution is proposed in the asynchronous message-passing model. Our solution is a versatile composition method of algorithms for $l$-mutual inclusion and $k$-mutual exclusion. Its message complexity is $O(|Q|)$, where $|Q|$ is the maximum size for the quorum of a coterie used by the algorithm, which is typically $|Q| = \sqrt{n}$.Comment: This is a modified version of the conference paper in PDAA201

Quorum Based Conflict Resolution Algorithms In Distributed Systems

Mutual exclusion is one of the most fundamental issues in the study of distributed systems. The problem arises when two or more processes are competing to use a mutual exclusive resource concurrently, i.e., the resource can only be used by at most one process at a time. Synchronizations adopting quorum systems are an important class of distributed algorithms since they are gracefully and significantly tolerate process and communication failures that may lead to network partitioning. Coterie based algorithm is a typical quorum based algorithm for mutual exclusion: A process can use the resource  only if it obtains permissions from all processes in any quorum ofcoterie, and since each quorum intersects with each other and each process only issues one permission, the mutual exclusion can be guaranteed. Many quorum systems have been defined based on the relaxation of the properties of coterie system. Each of them is designed to resolve its corresponding problem, e.g., k-coterie based algorithm to resolve the k-mutual exclusion, local coterie for the generalized mutual exclusion, (h, k)-arbiter for h-out of-k resource allocation problem, etc. Therefore, design an algorithm for any distributed conflict resolution problem is only meant to define a new quorum system which can be implemented to the corresponding problem. Since most of distributed conflict resolution problems are designed based on the relaxation of the safety property of mutual exclusion, understanding the way to relaxing the safety property and its quorum system is important to study any kind of conflict resolution problem in distributed systems

k-coteries for tolerating network 2-Partition

Network partition, which makes it impossible for some pairs of precesses to communicate with each other, is one of the most serious network failures. Although the notion of k-coterie is introduced to design a k-mutual exclusion algorithm robust against network failures, the number of processes allowed to simultaneously access the critical section may fatally decrease once network partition occurs. This paper discusses how to construct a k-coterie such that the k-mutual exclusion algorithm adopting it is robust against network 2-partition. To this end, we introduce the notion of complemental k-coterie, and show that complemental k-coteries meet our purpose. We then give methods for constructing complemental k-coteries, and show a necessary and sufficient condition for a k-coteries to be complemental

Un protocole contrôle de réplique d'une structure d'arborescence arbitraire. An arbitrary tree-structured replica control protocol

La réplication des données, qui est un problème de calcul distribué, est utilisée dans les grands systèmes distribués, en vue de parvenir à la tolérance aux pannes ainsi que d'améliorer les performances du système. Cependant, des sousjacents protocoles de synchronisation, également connus sous le nom de protocoles contrôle de réplique, sont nécessaires afin de maintenir la cohérence des données entre les répliques. De nombreux protocoles contrôle de réplique existent, chacun ayant ses avantages et inconvénients. Ceux-ci sont mesurés par le coût de communication, la disponibilité ainsi que la charge de système induite par les opérations de lecture ou d'écriture de ces protocoles. En général, ces protocoles contrôle de réplique sont répartis en deux familles: ceux qui supposent que les répliques du système sont organisées logiquement dans une structure et ceux qui ne nécessitent pas d'imposer une structure spécifique aux répliques. Dans cette thèse, à l'équipe ASTRE de l'IRIT (Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse) et sous la direction du Professeur Jean Paul Bahsoun, nous nous intéressons à l'étudier les protocoles de réplication qui organisent logiquement les répliques dans une structure d'un arbre et étudier la façon de contourner les inconvénients de la racine que ces protocoles en arbre souffrent de son goulot d'étranglement.In large distributed systems, replication is the most widely used approach to offer high data availability, low bandwidth consumption, increased faulttolerance and improved scalability of the overall system. Replication-based systems implement replica control (consistency) protocols that enforce a specified semantics of accessing data. Also, the performance depends on a host of factors chief of which is the protocol used to maintain consistency among the replicas. Several replica control protocols have been described in the literature. They differ according to various parameters such as their communication costs, their ability to tolerate replica failures (also termed as their availability), as well as the load they impose on the system when performing read and write operations. Moreover these replica control protocols can be classified into two families: some protocols assume that replicas of the system are arranged logically into a specific structure (Finite Projective Plane, Grid or Tree) whereas others do not require any specific structure to be imposed on the replicas. In this thesis, at group ASTRE of IRIT and under the supervision of professor Jean-Paul Bashoun, we are interested in studying the replication protocols that arrange logically the replicas into a tree structure and investigate how to circumvent the drawbacks of the root replica as the existing treestructured protocols suffer from the root replica's bottleneck

Notes on Theory of Distributed Systems

Notes for the Yale course CPSC 465/565 Theory of Distributed Systems

Blockchain Disruption: Digital Assets Are Changing How We Do Business

Digital assets are changing the way businesses think about equity, labor, business models, and business organization. Digital assets, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, provide incredible opportunities to further align shareholders with the objectives of the entity. Each time humanity advances its technology for ledgers, markets explode, and we witness immense wealth creation. Digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum are the next great step forward for ledger technology. While there are incredible opportunities to leverage this new technology, there are also incredible risks. There are many public examples of “hacks” of prominent blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. Blockchain technology has captured the imagination of the public. Blockchain, therefore, must develop a robust security system and intelligently distribute and limit liability for institutional and retail investors to reap the rewards of public attention. Part of the risk that comes from digital assets is its newness. Blockchains that run smart contracts have many incredible uses that could eliminate middlemen in many industries. But courts are yet to develop case law surrounding smart contracts. The way that smart contracts self-execute presents a new question which courts must address: how should a court allocate risk between two smart-contracting parties? No matter how the courts decide, the market needs an answer. This article attempts to explore some of the opportunities in digital assets and how these opportunities are fundamentally different from their traditional equivalents

Trusted community : a novel multiagent organisation for open distributed systems

[no abstract