Distributed Systems

Important Questions Given By Sir_____________________________________________________________________________5

Solutions_________________________________________________________________________________________________9
Question 1 - Goals of distributed system. Define distributed system.________________________________________________________9
Question 2 - Different forms of transparency_______________________________________________________________________13
Question 3 - Multiprocessor and Multicomputer_______________________________________________________________________14
Question 4 - Threads (Client + Server)________________________________________________________________________________18
Question 5 - Software Agents in distributed systems________________________________________________________________18
Question 7 -RPC semantics_________________________________________________________________________________________20
Question 8 -. Extended RPC – DOORS________________________________________________________________________________22
Doors are RPCs implemented for processes on the same machine__________________________________________________________23
A single mechanism for communication: procedure calls (but with doors, it is not transparent)_________________________________23
Question 9 - RMI – static Vs Dynamic________________________________________________________________________________25
Question 10 -. Parameter passing in RMI______________________________________________________________________________27
Question 11. Name Resolution: a. Recursive b. Iterative_________________________________________________________________30
Recursive Name Resolution__________________________________________________________________________________________________31
Comparison______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 33

Question 12 - DNS or X-500 Name resolution or issues__________________________________________________________________34

DNS -___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 34
Question 13. Clock synchronization. Also Berkeley algorithm, Averaging____________________________________________________34
A few points on clock synchronization_________________________________________________________________________________________34
2. Why need to synchronize clocks__________________________________________________________________________________________35
Problem with Physical clock__________________________________________________________________________________________________35
Relative Clock Synchronization (Berkeley Algorithm)______________________________________________________________________________35
Averaging algorithm________________________________________________________________________________________________________36

Question 14 - Logical clocks with example.____________________________________________________________________________37

Lamport’s Algorithm_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 38

Question 15 - Vector Clocks________________________________________________________________________________________38

Vector clocks_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 38
Fidge’s Algorithm__________________________________________________________________________________________________________39
Example_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 39

Question 16 - Lamport logical clock [problems with this approach]________________________________________________________42

Question 17. Election of a coordinator - a. Bully algorithm && b. Ring algorithm_____________________________________________45
Bully algorithm____________________________________________________________________________________________________________45
Ring algorithm____________________________________________________________________________________________________________47

Question 18 - Distributed Mutual Exclusion Algorithm a. Ricart-Agrawala algorithm b. Token ring algorithm______________________49
Ricart-Agrawala algorithm___________________________________________________________________________________________________49
Token ring algorithm_______________________________________________________________________________________________________51

Question 19. Explain Transaction Models_____________________________________________________________________________53

QP-Sep2010. Distinguish between Strict and sequential consistency with an example for each__________________________________56
Data-Centric Consistency Models_____________________________________________________________________________________________56
Strict consistency (related to absolute global time)_______________________________________________________________________________58
Sequential consistency (what we are used to - serializability)_______________________________________________________________________59
Sequential consistency is a slightly weaker consistency model than strict consistency.________________________________________59
A data store is said to be sequentially consistent when it satisfies the following condition:_____________________________________60
The result of any execution is the same as if the (read and write) operations by all processes on the data store were executed in some
sequential order, and the operations of each individual process appear in this sequence in the order specified by its program.________60
Question 20 - Client centric consistency/ Monotonic read and write_______________________________________________________62
Client centric consistency model______________________________________________________________________________________________62
Monotonic-Read Consistency________________________________________________________________________________________________63

Question 21 -. Replica placement – 3 types of replicas a. Client driven, b. Server driven, c. Permanent____________________________70
Primary-based remote-write protocol with a fixed server to which all read and write operations are forwarded.___________________74
Primary-backup protocol in which the primary migrates to the process wanting to perform an update.___________________________77
22. Primary based consistency protocols______________________________________________________________________________77
23. Fault tolerance – Different types of failures________________________________________________________________________78
24. Design issues – Failure masks (Process Resilience)___________________________________________________________________78
25. Five different types of classes of failure in RPC system - Solution along with the listing_____________________________________80
a. Scalable reliable multicasting_____________________________________________________________________________________80
b. Hierarchical – Nonhierarchical scalable_____________________________________________________________________________80
Fault_Tolerance.pdf 26-34 Slides____________________________________________________________________________________80
26. Explain Virtual synchrony_______________________________________________________________________________________85
The logical organization of a distributed system to distinguish between message receipt and message delivery.___________________86
27. General CORBA architecture and CORBA services____________________________________________________________________92
28. Messaging – Interoperability____________________________________________________________________________________94
29. DCOM – client server processor architecture of it.___________________________________________________________________96
QP-Sep2010.With the supporting diagram, explain in detail D-COM________________________________________________________97
30. Globe Object Model – Architecture and Services____________________________________________________________________99
Question 31 - NFS – Architecture (basic), file system operations supported OR Explain the basic NFS architecture for unix systems. Also
list any eight file system operations supported by NFS_________________________________________________________________102
Question 32 - Naming scheme in NFS with different types of mounting___________________________________________________104
33. Caching and replication scheme in NFS.__________________________________________________________________________107
34. Organization of CODA file system – Fault tolerance and security______________________________________________________108
QP-Sep2010 - With reference to CODA file system, explain communication, process and server replication_______________________110
35. DSM System – Different algorithms, Granularity & page replacement__________________________________________________111
36. List and explain load distribution algorithms in distributed systems and 4 components.___________________________________115
37. Sender/Receiver distributed algorithm___________________________________________________________________________115
38. Adaptive load distribution algorithm_____________________________________________________________________________115
From 39 to 42 Questions and Answers follow DS-Secu.pdf______________________________________________________________115
43. Explain advantages of distributed systems________________________________________________________________________116
QP-Mar2010 - Explain about the architectural model of Distributed system________________________________________________116
44. Access protocol – Security for bus and ring topology – CDMA_________________________________________________________118
45. Message passing models used to develop communication primitives___________________________________________________119
 QP-Sep2010. Write short notes on memory coherence_________________________________________________________________123
QP-Sep2010.Explaing in detail the block cipher DES____________________________________________________________________124

Appendix______________________________________________________________________________________________126
Questions from old question papers (Test 1)_________________________________________________________________________126
Introduction_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________126
RPC____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________126
DNS____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________126
Model__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________126
RMI____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________126
Mobile_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 127
Communication__________________________________________________________________________________________________________127

Test 3 Syllabus Questions_________________________________________________________________________________________127

1. DSM(distributed shared memory) Algorithms (different types of algorithms)_____________________________________________________127
2. Discuss granularity and replacement algorithms in DSM._____________________________________________________________________127
3. Different distribution algorithm components (Transfer policy/Location policy) etc –________________________________________________127
4. Load distribution algorithms - Sender initiated distributed algorithms___________________________________________________________127
5. Load distribution algorithms -Discuss Adaptive load distributive algorithms.______________________________________________________127
Important Questions Given By Sir
Distributed Systems
Red - Not attempted

1. Goals of distributed system. Define distributed system.

2. Different forms of transparency
3. Multicomputer / Multiprocessor
4. Threads (Client + Server)
5. Software Agents in distributed systems
6. X- windows system
7. RPC semantics
8. Extended RPC – DOORS
9. RMI – static Vs Dynamic
10. Parameter passing in RMI
11. Name Resolution:
a. Recursive
b. Iterative
12. DNS or X-500
Name resolution or issues
QP-Sep2010 Write short notes on DNS and X-500
13. Clock synchronization. Also Berkeley algorithm, Averaging
14. Logical clocks with example.
15. Vector Clocks
16. Lamport logical clock [problems with this approach]
17. Election of a coordinator
a. Bully algorithm
b. Ring algorithm
18. Distributed Election Algorithm
a. Ricart-Agrawala algorithm
b. Token ring algorithm
19. Explain Transaction Models
QP-Sep2010. Distinguish between Strict and sequential consistency with an example for each
20. Client centric consistency/ Monotonic read and write
21. Replica placement – 3 types of replicas
a. Client driven
b. Server driven
c. Permanent
22. Primary based consistency protocols
23. Fault tolerance – Different types of failures
24. Design issues – Failure masks (Process Resilience)
25. Five different types of classes of failure in RPC system - Solution along with the listing
a. Scalable reliable multicasting
b. Hierarchical – Non hierarchical scalable
26. Explain Virtual synchrony
27. General CORBA architecture and CORBA services
28. Messaging – Interoperability
29. DCOM – client server processor architecture of it.
QP-Sep2010.With the supporting diagram, explain in detail D-COM
30. Globe Object Model – Architecture and Services
31. NFS – Architecture (basic), file system operations supported
32. Naming scheme in NFS with different types of mounting
33. Caching and replication scheme in NFS.
34. Organization of CODA file system – Fault tolerance and security
QP-Sep2010 - With reference to CODA file system, explain communication, process and server replication
35. DFS System – Different algorithms, Granularity & page replacement
36. List and explain load distribution algorithms in distributed systems and 4 components.
37. Sender/Receiver distributed algorithm
38. Adaptive load distribution algorithm
(Load.ppt 7-23 slides for above 3 questions)
39. Authentication distribution technique using:
a. Key distribution centre
b. Public key cryptography
8-15 slides in DS-Secu.pdf
40. Access control – General issues
20-24 slides in DS-Secu.pdf
41. Explain key establishment or key distribution techniques
32-37 slides in DS-Secu.pdf
42. Kerberos authentication issues
36-37 slides in DS-Secu.pdf but not complete

43. Explain advantages of distributed systems

QP-Mar2010 - Explain about the architectural model of Distributed system

a. 3 different distributed systems architecture
i. Minicomputers model
ii.Workstation model
iii.Processor pool model

b. Issues in designing distributed systems (Any 3 issues)

44. Access protocol – Security for bus and ring topology – CDMA
45. Message passing models used to develop communication primitives
46. Compatibility/Resource management for specific issues

Exam Questions
QP-Sep2010. Briefly explain reliable client server communication
QP-Sep2010. Write short notes on memory coherence
QP-Sep2010.Explaing in detail the block cipher DES

Solutions
Question 1 - Goals of distributed system. Define distributed system.
Question 2 - Different forms of transparency
Question 3 - Multiprocessor and Multicomputer
Flynn’s Classification of multiple-processor machines:
{SI, MI} x {SD, MD} = {SISD, SIMD, MISD, MIMD}

· SISD = Single Instruction Single Data

E.g. Classical Von Neumann machines.
· SIMD = Single Instruction Multiple Data
E.g. Array Processors or Data Parallel machines.
· MISD Does not exist
· MIMD Multiple Instruction Multiple Data Control parallelism.
Question 4 - Threads (Client + Server)

Question 5 - Software Agents in distributed systems

Question 7 -RPC semantics
During a RPC, one of the following problems may occur:
 1. Request msg may be lost
2. Reply msg may be lost
3. Server & client may crash

Some strategies for different RPC msg delivery guarantees

1. Retry request message-retransmit the request msg until either a reply is received or the server is assumed to have failed

2. Duplicate filtering-filtering duplicate requests at the server when retransmissions are used

3. Retransmission of replies-keep a history of reply messages to enable lost replies to be

Question 8 -. Extended RPC – DOORS
Essence - Try to use the RPC mechanism as the only mechanism for interprocess communication (IPC).

Doors are RPCs implemented for processes on the same machine

A single mechanism for communication: procedure calls (but with doors, it is not transparent)
Question 9 - RMI – static Vs Dynamic
Reference : Page 3 of http://www.cs.gmu.edu/~setia/cs707/slides/rmi-imp.pdf

Question 10 -. Parameter passing in RMI

Question 11. Name Resolution: a. Recursive b. Iterative

This question is related to ‘Implementation of Name Resolution’. Let us take an example of ftp://ftp.cs.vu.nl/pub/globe/index.txt.
There are now two ways to implement name
resolution.

Iterative Name Resolution

In iterative name resolution, a name resolver hands over the complete name to the root name server. It is assumed that the
address where the root server can be contacted, is well known. The root server will resolve the path name as far as it can, and
return the result to the client. In our example, the root server can resolve only the label nl, for which it will return the address of
the associated name server.
Recursive Name Resolution
An alternative to iterative name resolution is to use recursion during name resolution. Instead of returning each intermediate
result back to the client’s name resolver, with recursive name resolution, a name server passes the result to the next name server
it finds. So, for example, when the root name server finds the address of the name server implementing the node named nl, it
requests that name server to resolve the path name nl:<vu, cs, ftp, pub, globe, index.txt>. Using recursive name resolution as
well, this next server will resolve the complete path and eventually return the file index.txt to the root server, which, in turn, will
pass that file to the client’s name resolve
Comparison
1. The main drawback of recursive name resolution is that it puts a higher performance demand on each name server
2. There are two important advantages to recursive name resolution.
 a. caching results is more effective compared to iterative name resolution.
b. communication costs may be reduced
3. With iterative name resolution, caching is necessarily restricted to the client’s name resolver.

Reference: http://www.cs.vu.nl/~ast/books/ds1/04.pdf

Question 12 - DNS or X-500 Name resolution or issues

DNS -

Question 13. Clock synchronization. Also Berkeley algorithm, Averaging

A few points on clock synchronization

1. Distributed Synchronization
a. Communication between processes in a distributed system can have unpredictable delays
b. No common clock or other precise global time source exists for distributed algorithms
c. Requirement: We have to establish causality, i.e., each observer must see
d. event 1 before event 2
 2. Why need to synchronize clocks

Problem with Physical clock

● Clock skew(offset): the difference between the times on two clocks
● Clock drift : they count time at different rates

Relative Clock Synchronization (Berkeley Algorithm)

Purpose
If you need a uniform time (without a UTC-receiver per computer), but you cannot establish a central time-server:
 1. Peers elect a master

2. Master polls all nodes to give him their times by the clock

3. The master estimates the local times of all nodes regarding the involved message transfer times.

4. Master uses the estimated local times for building the arithmetic mean
a. Add fault tolerance

5. The deviations from the mean are sent to the nodes

a. Is this better than sending the actual time?

Averaging algorithm
a) The time daemon asks all the other machines for their clock values.
b) The machines answer.
c) The Time daemon tells everyone how to adjust their clock
Ref:http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~lee/07cis505/Lec/lec-ch6-synch1-PhysicalClock-v2.pdf

Question 14 - Logical clocks with example.

A logical clock is a mechanism for capturing chronological and causal relationships in a distributed system

Logical clock algorithms of note are:

● Lamport timestamps, which are monotonically increasing software counters.
● Vector clocks, that allow for total ordering of events in a distributed system.

Logical clock solves the following two problems

Problem: How do we maintain a global view on the system’s behavior that is consistent with the happened-before relation?
Solution:attach a timestamp

Problem:How do we attach a timestamp to an event when there’s no global clock?

Solution: maintain a consistent set of logical clocks, one per process.

Lamport’s Algorithm
Each process Pi maintains a local counter Ci and adjusts this counter according to the following rules:

1. For any two successive events that take place within Pi, Ci is incremented by 1.
2. Each time a message m is sent by process Pi, the message receives a timestamp Tm = Ci.
3. Whenever a message m is received by a process Pj, Pj adjusts its local counter Cj:

Question 15 - Vector Clocks

Vector clocks
It is an algorithm for generating a partial ordering of events in a distributed system and detecting causality violations. The
vector clocks algorithm was developed byColin Fidge in 1988
Causality is the relationship between an event (the cause) and a second event (the effect), where the second event is understood as a consequence of the
first

Drawback of Lamport’s clocks

With Lamport’s clocks, one cannot directly compare the timestamps of two events to determine their precedence relationship.

Fidge’s Algorithm

The Fidge’s logical clock is maintained as follows:

1. Initially all clock values are set to the smallest value.

2. The local clock value is incremented at least once before each primitive event in a process.

3. The current value of the entire logical clock vector is delivered to the receiver for every outgoing message.

4. Values in the timestamp vectors are never decremented.

5. Upon receiving a message, the receiver sets the value of each entry in its local timestamp vector to the
maximum of the two corresponding values in the local vector and in the remote vector received.

The element corresponding to the sender is a special case; it is set to one greater than the value
received, but only if the local value is not greater than that received.

Example
Assign the Fidge’s logical clock values for all the events in the below timing diagram. Assume that each process’s logical clock is
set to 0 initially.
Question 16 - Lamport logical clock [problems with this approach]
Assign the Lamport’s logical clock values for all the events in the below timing diagram. Assume that each process’s logical clock
is set to 0 initially.
Solution
Question 17. Election of a coordinator - a. Bully algorithm && b. Ring
algorithm

Bully algorithm
The bully algorithm is a method in distributed computing for dynamically selecting a coordinator by process
ID number.

When a process P determines that the current coordinator is down because of message timeouts or failure of
the coordinator to initiate a handshake, it performs the following sequence of actions:

1. P broadcasts an election message (inquiry) to all other processes with higher process IDs.

2. If P hears from no process with a higher process ID than it, it wins the election and broadcasts
victory.

3. If P hears from a process with a higher ID, P waits a certain amount of time for that process to
broadcast itself as the leader. If it does not receive this message in time, it re-broadcasts the
election message.
Note that if P receives a victory message from a process with a lower ID number, it immediately initiates a
new election. This is how the algorithm gets its name - a process with a higher ID number will bully a lower ID
process out of the coordinator position as soon as it comes online.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6919757/BULLY-ALGORITHM
Ring algorithm
http://www2.cs.uregina.ca/~hamilton/courses/330/notes/distributed/distributed.html
☞ We assume that the processes are arranged in a logical ring; each process knows the address of one other process, which is
its neighbour in the clockwise direction.

☞ The algorithm elects a single coordinator, which is the process with the highest identifier.

☞ Election is started by a process which has noticed that the current coordinator has failed. The process places its identifier in an
election message that is passed to the following process.

☞ When a process receives an election message it compares the identifier in the message with its own. If the arrived identifier is
greater, it forwards the received election message to its neighbour; if the arrived identifier is smaller it substitutes its own identifier
in the election message before forwarding it.

☞ If the received identifier is that of the receiver itself ⇒ this will be the coordinator. The new coordinator sends an elected
message through the ring.
Example:
Suppose that we have four processes arranged in a ring: P1 à P2 à P3 à P4 à P1 …
P4 is coordinator
Suppose P1 + P4 crash
Suppose P2 detects that coordinator P4 is not responding
P2 sets active list to [ ]
P2 sends “Elect(2)” message to P3; P2 sets active list to [2]
P3 receives “Elect(2)”
This message is the first message seen, so P3 sets its active list to [2,3]
P3 sends “Elect(3)” towards P4 and then sends “Elect(2)” towards P4
The messages pass P4 + P1 and then reach P2
P2 adds 3 to active list [2,3]
P2 forwards “Elect(3)” to P3
P2 receives the “Elect(2) message
 P2 chooses P3 as the highest process in its list [2, 3] and sends an “Elected(P3)” message
P3 receives the “Elect(3)” message
P3 chooses P3 as the highest process in its list [2, 3] + sends an “Elected(P3)” message

Question 18 - Distributed Mutual Exclusion Algorithm a. Ricart-Agrawala

algorithm b. Token ring algorithm
There are two basic approaches to distributed mutual exclusion:

1. Non-token-based: each process freely and equally competes for the right to use the
shared resource; requests are arbitrated by a central control site or by distributed agreement.

2. Token-based: a logical token representing the access right to the shared resource is passed
in a regulated fashion among the processes; whoever holds the token is allowed to enter the
critical section.

Ricart-Agrawala algorithm
The Ricart-Agrawala Algorithm is an algorithm for mutual exclusion on a distributed system.

Terminology
● A site is any computing device which is running the Ricart-Agrawala Algorithm
● The requesting site is the site which is requesting entry into the critical section.
● The receiving site is every other site which is receiving the request from the requesting site.
Algorithm
Requesting Site:
● Sends a message to all sites. This message includes the site's name, and the current timestamp of the
system according to its logical clock (which is assumed to be synchronized with the other sites)
Receiving Site:
● Upon reception of a request message, immediately send a timestamped reply message if and only if:
● the receiving process is not currently interested in the critical section OR
● the receiving process has a lower priority (usually this means having a later timestamp)
● Otherwise, the receiving process will defer the reply message. This means that a reply will be sent only
after the receiving process has finished using the critical section itself.
Critical Section:
● Requesting site enters its critical section only after receiving all reply messages.
● Upon exiting the critical section, the site sends all deferred reply messages.
Problems
The algorithm is expensive in terms of message traffic; it requires 2(n-1) messages for entering a CS: (n-1) requests and (n-1)
replies.

The failure of any process involved makes progress impossible if no special recovery measures are taken.

Token ring algorithm

The Token Ring Algorithm is an algorithm for mutual exclusion on a distributed system.

☞ A very simple way to solve mutual exclusion ⇒

arrange the n processes P1, P2, .... Pn in a logical ring.
☞ The logical ring topology is created by giving each process the address of one other process which is its
neighbour in the clockwise direction.

☞ The logical ring topology is unrelated to the physical interconnections between the computers.

The algorithm

1. The token is initially given to one process.

2. The token is passed from one process to its neighbour round the ring.
 3. When a process requires to enter the CS, it waits until it receives the token from its left neighbour and then it retains it;
after it got the token it enters the CS; after it left the CS it passes the token to its neighbour in clockwise direction.
4. When a process receives the token but does not require to enter the critical section, it immediately passes the token over
along the ring.

☞ It can take from 1 to n-1 messages to obtain a token. Messages are sent around the ring even when no process requires the
token ⇒ additional load on the network.

The algorithm works well in heavily loaded situations, when there is a high probability that the process which gets the token wants
to enter the CS. It works poorly in lightly loaded cases.

☞ If a process fails, no progress can be made until a reconfiguration is applied to extract the process from the ring.

☞ If the process holding the token fails, a unique process has to be picked, which will regenerate the token and pass it along the
ring; an election algorithm

Question 19. Explain Transaction Models

QP-Sep2010. Distinguish between Strict and sequential consistency with
an example for each
Data-Centric Consistency Models
A contract between a (distributed) data store and processes, in which the data store specifies precisely what the results of read
and write operations are in the presence of concurrency.
A data store is a distributed collection of storages accessible to clients:

Strong consistency models: Operations on shared data are synchronized (models not using synchronization operations):

1. Strict consistency (related to absolute global time)

2. Linearizability (atomicity)
3. Sequential consistency (what we are used to -serializability)
 4. Causal consistency (maintains only causal relations)
5. FIFO consistency (maintains only individual ordering)

Weak consistency models: Synchronization occurs only when shared data is locked and unlocked (models with synchronization
operations):
1. General weak consistency
2. Release consistency
3. Entry consistency

Observation: The weaker the consistency model, the easier it is to build a scalable solution

Strict consistency (related to absolute global time)

Any read to a shared data item X returns the value stored by the most recent write operation on X.
Observations
1. Unfortunately, this is impossible to implemented in a distributed system
2. If a data item is changed, all subsequent reads performed on that data return the new value, no matter how soon after the
change the reads are done, and no matter which processes are doing the reading and where they are located

Sequential consistency (what we are used to - serializability)

Sequential consistency is a slightly weaker consistency model than strict consistency.

A data store is said to be sequentially consistent when it satisfies the following condition:

The result of any execution is the same as if the (read and write) operations by all processes on the data store were
executed in some sequential order, and the operations of each individual process appear in this sequence in the order
specified by its program.
Observations
1. When processes run concurrently on possibly different machines, any valid interleaving of read and write operations is
acceptable behavior
2. All processes see the same interleaving of executions.
3. Nothing is said about time
4. A process “sees” writes from all processes but only its own reads

Question 20 - Client centric consistency/ Monotonic read and write

Client centric consistency model

Client-centric consistency models are generally used for applications that lack simultaneous updates –i.e., most operations
involve reading data.

Goal: Show how we can perhaps avoid system-wide consistency, by concentrating on what specific clients want, instead of what
should be maintained by servers.

Most large-scale distributed systems (i.e., databases) apply replication for scalability, but can support only weak consistency.

Example
1. DNS: Updates are propagated slowly, and inserts may not be immediately visible.News: Articles and reactions are pushed
and pulled throughout the Internet, such that reactions can be seen before postings.
2. Lotus Notes: Geographically dispersed servers replicate documents, but make no attempt to keep (concurrent) updates
mutually consistent.
 3. WWW: Caches all over the place, but there need be no guarantee that you are reading the most recent version of a page.

Important
● Client-centric consistency provides guarantees for a single client concerning the consistency of access to a data store by
that client
● No guarantees are given concerning concurrent accesses by different clients

Monotonic-Read Consistency
Example 1: Automatically reading your personal calendar updates from different servers. Monotonic Reads guarantees that the
user sees all updates, no matter from which server the automatic reading takes place.

Example 2: Reading (not modifying) incoming mail while you are on the move. Each time you connect to a different e-mail
server, that server fetches (at least) all the updates from the server you previously visited.

Monotonic-Write Consistency
 1. Example 1: Updating a program at server S2, and ensuring that all components on which compilation and linking
depends, are also placed at S2.

2. Example 2: Maintaining versions of replicated files in the correct order everywhere (propagate the previous version to the
server where the newest version is installed).

Question 21 -. Replica placement – 3 types of replicas a. Client driven, b.

Server driven, c. Permanent
Replica Placement
Model: We consider objects (and don’t worry whether they contain just data or code, or both)
Distinguish different processes: A process is capable of hosting a replica of an object:
•Permanent replicas: Process/machine always having a replica (i.e., initial set of replicas)
•Server-initiated replica: Process that can dynamically host a replica on request of another server in the data store
•Client-initiated replica: Process that can dynamically host a replica on request of a client (client cache)
Server-Initiated Replicas
•Keep track of access counts per file, aggregated by considering server closest to requesting clients
•Number of accesses drops below threshold D drop file
•Number of accesses exceeds threshold R replicate file
•Number of access between D and R migrate file

Update Propagation
•Important design issues in update propagation:
1.Propagate only notification/invalidation of update (often used for caches)

2.Transfer data from one copy to another (distributed databases)

3.Propagate the update operation to other copies (also called active replication)
Observation: No single approach is the best, but depends highly on available bandwidth and read-to-write ratio at replicas.

•Pushing updates: server-initiated approach, in which update is propagated regardless whether target asked for it or not.
•Pulling updates: client-initiated approach, in which client requests to be updated.

Observation: We can dynamically switch between pulling and pushing using leases: A contract in which the server promises to push updates
to the client until the lease expires.
Issue: Make lease expiration time dependent on system’s behavior (adaptive leases):
•Age-based leases: An object that hasn’t changed for a long time, will not change in the near future, so provide a long-lasting lease
•Renewal-frequency based leases: The more often a client requests a specific object, the longer the expiration time for that client (for that
object) will be
•State-based leases: The more loaded a server is, the shorter the expiration times become
22. Primary based consistency protocols

Remote Write Protocols

Primary-based remote-write protocol with a fixed server to which all read and write operations are forwarded.
The principle of primary-backup protocol
Primary-based local-write protocol in which a single copy is migrated between processes.
Primary-backup protocol in which the primary migrates to the process wanting to perform an update.

23. Fault tolerance – Different types of failures

•A system is said to “fail” when it cannot meetits promises.
•A failure is brought about by the existenceof “errors” in the system.
•The causeof an error is a “fault”.

24. Design issues – Failure masks (Process Resilience)

Process Resilience
•Processes can be made fault tolerant by arranging to have a group of processes, with each member of the group being identical.

•A message sent to the group is delivered to all of the “copies” of the process (the group members), and then only one of them performs the
required service.

•If one of the processes fail, it is assumed that one of the others will still be able to function (and service any pending request or operation).
Flat Groups versus Hierarchical Groups
(a) Communication in a flat group. (b) Communication in a simple hierarchical group.
Failure Masking and Replication
•By organizing a fault tolerant group of processes, we can protect a single vulnerable process.

•There are two approaches to arranging the replication of the group:

1.Primary (backup) Protocols
2.Replicated-Write Protocols

Failure Masking and Replication

Primary-backup protocol. A primary coordinates all write operations. If it fails, then the others hold an election to replace the primary
Replicated-write protocols. Active replication as well as quorum based protocols. Corresponds to a flat group.

A system is said to be k fault tolerantif it can survive faults in k components and still meet its specifications.
For fail-silent components, k+1are enough to be k fault tolerant.
For Byzantine failures, at least 2k+1components are needed to achieve k fault tolerance.
Requires atomic multicasting: all requests arrive at all servers in same order.

25. Five different types of classes of failure in RPC system - Solution

along with the listing

a. Scalable reliable multicasting

b. Hierarchical – Nonhierarchical scalable

Fault_Tolerance.pdf 26-34 Slides

RPC Semantics and Failures

•The RPC mechanism works well as long as both the client and server function perfectly.
•Five classes of RPC failure can be identified:
1.The client cannot locate the server, so no request can be sent.
2.The client’s request to the server is lost, so no response is returned by the server to the waiting client.
3.The server crashes after receiving the request, and the service request is left acknowledged, but undone.
4.The server’s reply is lost on its way to the client, the service has completed, but the results never arrive at the client
5.The client crashes after sending its request, and the server sends a reply to a newly-restarted client that may not be expecting it.
The Five Classes of Failure (1)
•A server in client-server communication:

a)The normal case.

b)Crash after service execution.
c)Crash before service execution.

The Five Classes of Failure (2)

•An appropriate exception handling mechanism can deal with a missing server. However, such technologies tend to be very language-specific,
and they also tend to be non-transparent (which is a big DS „no-no‟).

•Dealing with lost request messages can be dealt with easily using timeouts. If no ACK arrives in time, the message is resent. Of course, the
server needs to be able to deal with the possibility of duplicate requests.

The Five Classes of Failure (3)

•Server crashes are dealt with by implementing one of three possible implementation philosophies:
1.At least once semantics: a guarantee is given that the RPC occurred at least once, but (also) possibly more that once.
2.At most once semantics: a guarantee is given that the RPC occurred at most once, but possibly not at all.

3.No semantics: nothing is guaranteed, and client and servers take their chances!
•It has proved difficult to provide exactly once semantics.
Server Crashes (1)
•Remote operation: print some text and (when done) send a completion message.

•Three events that can happen at the server:

1.Send the completion message (M),

2.Print the text (P),
3.Crash (C).

Server Crashes (2)

•These three events can occur in six different orderings:
1.M →P →C: A crash occurs after sending the completion message and printing the text.
2.M →C (→P): A crash happens after sending the completion message, but before the text could be printed.
3.P →M →C: A crash occurs after sending the completion message and printing the text.
4.P→C(→M): The text printed, after which a crash occurs before the completion message could be sent.
5.C (→P →M): A crash happens before the server could do anything.
6.C (→M →P): A crash happens before the server could do anything.
Different combinations of client and server strategies in the presence of server crashes

The Five Classes of Failure (4)

•Lost replies are difficult to deal with.

•Why was there no reply? Is the server dead, slow, or did the reply just go missing? Emmmmm?

•A request that can be repeated any number of times without any nasty side-effects is said to be idempotent. (For example: a read of a static
web-page is said to be idempotent).

•Nonidempotentrequests (for example, the electronic transfer of funds) are a little harder to deal with. A common solution is to employ unique
sequence numbers. Another technique is the inclusion of additional bits in a retransmission to identify it as such to the server.

The Five Classes of Failure (5)

•When a client crashes, and when an „old‟ reply arrives, such a reply is known as an orphan.

•Four orphan solutions have been proposed:

1.extermination(the orphan is simply killed-off).
2.reincarnation(each client session has an epochassociated with it, making orphans easy to spot).
3.gentle reincarnation(when a new epoch is identified, an attempt is made to locate a requests owner, otherwise the orphan is killed).
4.expiration(if the RPC cannot be completed within a standard amount of time, it is assumed to have expired).
•In practice, however, none of these methods are desirable for dealing with orphans. Research continues

SRM: Scalable Reliable Multicasting

•Receivers neveracknowledge successful delivery.
•Only missing messages are reported.
•NACKs are multicast to all group members.
•This allows other members to suppress their feedback, if necessary.
•To avoid “retransmission clashes”, each member is required to wait a random delay prior to NACKing.

Nonhierarchical Feedback Control

Several receivers have scheduled a request for retransmission, but the first retransmission request leads to the suppression of others

Hierarchical Feedback Control

The essence of hierarchical reliable multicasting.
Each local coordinator forwards the message to its children and later handles retransmission requests.

26. Explain Virtual synchrony

Virtual Synchrony (1)
The logical organization of a distributed system to distinguish between message receipt and message delivery.
The principle of virtual synchronous multicast

Message Ordering (1)

•Four different orderings are distinguished:

1.Unordered multicasts
2.FIFO-ordered multicasts
3.Causally-ordered multicasts
4.Totally-ordered multicasts
Three communicating processes in the same group. The ordering of events per process is shown along the vertical axis.

Four processes in the same group with two different senders, and a possible delivery order of messages under FIFO-ordered multicasting

Implementing Virtual Synchrony

Six different versions of virtually synchronous reliable multicasting
(a) Process 4 notices that process 7 has crashed and sends a view change

(b) Process 6 sends out all its unstable messages, followed by a flush message
Process 6 installs the new view when it has received a flush message from everyone else
27. General CORBA architecture and CORBA services

The global architecture of CORBA.

The general organization of a CORBA system.
Corba Services
Service Description
Collection Facilities for grouping objects into lists, queue, sets,
etc.
Query Facilities for querying collections of objects in a
declarative manner
Concurrency Facilities to allow concurrent access to shared objects
Transaction Flat and nested transactions on method calls over
multiple objects
Event Facilities for asynchronous communication through
events
Notification Advanced facilities for event-based asynchronous
communication
Externalization Facilities for marshaling and unmarshaling of objects
Life cycle Facilities for creation, deletion, copying, and moving of
objects
Licensing Facilities for attaching a license to an object
Naming Facilities for systemwide name of objects
Property Facilities for associating (attribute, value) pairs with
objects
Trading Facilities to publish and find the services on object has
to offer
Persistence Facilities for persistently storing objects
Relationship Facilities for expressing relationships between objects
Security Mechanisms for secure channels, authorization, and
auditing
Time Provides the current time within specified error
margins
Overview of CORBA services.

28. Messaging – Interoperability

Object Invocation Models

Request type Failure semantics Description

Synchronous At-most-once Caller blocks until a
response is returned or an
exception is raised
One-way Best effort delivery Caller continues
immediately without waiting
for any response from the
server
Deferred synchronous At-most-once Caller continues
immediately and can later
block until response is
delivered

Invocation models supported in CORBA.

Messaging

CORBA's callback model for asynchronous method invocation.

CORBA'S polling model for asynchronous method invocation.

Interoperability

Message type Originator Description

Request Client Contains an invocation
request
Reply Server Contains the response to an
invocation
LocateRequest Client Contains a request on the
exact location of an object
LocateReply Server Contains location
information on an object
CancelRequest Client Indicates client no longer
expects a reply
CloseConnection Both Indication that connection
will be closed
MessageError Both Contains information on an
error
Fragment Both Part (fragment) of a larger
message

GIOP message types.

29. DCOM – client server processor architecture of it.

The overall architecture of DCOM.

Passing an object reference in DCOM with custom marshaling.

QP-Sep2010.With the supporting diagram, explain in

detail D-COM
Continuation to above answer
The general organization of ActiveX, OLE, and COM.

DCOM Services
CORBA Service DCOM/COM+ Service Windows 2000 Service
Collection ActiveX Data Objects -
Query None -
Concurrency Thread concurrency -
Transaction COM+ Automatic Distributed Transaction
Transactions Coordinator
Event COM+ Events -
Notification COM+ Events -
Externalization Marshaling utilities -
Life cycle Class factories, JIT activation -
Licensing Special class factories -
Naming Monikers Active Directory
Property None Active Directory
Trading None Active Directory
Persistence Structured storage Database access
Relationship None Database access
Security Authorization SSL, Kerberos
Time None None

Overview of DCOM services in comparison to CORBA services.

Event processing in DCOM.

30. Globe Object Model – Architecture and Services

Globe Object Model
The organization of a Globe distributed shared object.
The general organization of a local object for distributed shared objects in Globe.

Binding a process to an object in Globe.

Service Possible Implementation in Available

Globe
Collection Separate object that holds No
references to other objects
Concurrency Each object implements its own No
concurrency control strategy
Transaction Separate object representing a No
transaction manager
Event/Notification Separate object per group of No
events (as in DCOM)
Externalization Each object implements its own Yes
marshaling routines
Life cycle Separate class objects Yes
combined with per-object
implementations
Licensing Implemented by each object No
separately
Naming Separate service, implemented Yes
by a collection of naming
objects
Property/Trading Separate service, implemented No
by a collection of directory
objects
Persistence Implemented on a per-object Yes
basis
Security Implemented per object, Yes
 combined with (local) security
services
Replication Implemented on a per-object Yes
basis
Fault tolerance Implemented per object Yes
combined with fault-tolerant
services

Overview of possible Globe implementations of typical distributes-systems services.

(this answer is not very specific so please refer chap-09.pdf also)

Question 31 - NFS – Architecture (basic), file system

operations supported OR Explain the basic NFS
architecture for unix systems. Also list any eight file
system operations supported by NFS
NFS
An industry standard for file sharing on local networks since the 1980s
· An open standard with clear and simple interfaces
· Supports many of the design requirements already mentioned:
o transparency
o heterogeneity
o efficiency
o fault tolerance
The basic NFS architecture(2) for UNIX systems

Unix implementation advantages

· Binary code compatible -no need to recompile applications
o Standard system calls that access remote files can be routed through the NFS client module by the
kernel
· Shared cache of recently-used blocks at client
· Kernel-level server can access i-nodes and file blocks directly
o But a privileged (root) application program could do almost the same.
· Security of the encryption key used for authentication.

file system operations supported by NFS

1. Create – Create a regular file
2. Rename – Change the name of a file
3. Mkdir – Create a subdirectory under a given directory
4. Rmdir – Remove an empty subdirectory from a directory
5. Open –Open a file
6. Close – Closes a file
7. Read – Read the data contained in a file
8. Write – Write data to a file.

Question 32 - Naming scheme in NFS with different

types of mounting
Mount operation: mount(remotehost, remotedirectory, localdirectory)
o Server maintains a table of clients who have mounted file systems at that server
o Each client maintains a table of mounted file systems holding:
o < IP address, port number, file handle>

Hard versus soft mounts

o Soft - If a file request fails, the NFS client will report an error to the
process on the client machine requesting the file access.

o -The program accessing a file on a NFS mounted file system will

Hard
hang when the server crashes
33. Caching and replication scheme in NFS.

Client-side caching in NFS.

Using the NFS version 4 callback mechanism to recall file delegation.

8
NFS: Client Caching
• Potential for inconsistent versions at different clients.
• Solution approach:
– Whenever file cached, timestamp of last modification on server is cached as
well.
– Validation: Client requests latest timestamp from server (getattributes), and
compares against local timestamp. If fails, all blocks are invalidated.
• Validation check:
– at file open
– whenever server contacted to get new block
– after timeout (3s for file blocks, 30s for directories)
• Writes:
– block marked dirty and scheduled for flushing.
– flushing: when file is closed, or a sync occurs at client.
• Time lag for change to propagate from one client to other:
– delay between write and flush
– time to next cache validation

Replica Servers
• NFS ver 4 supports replications
• Entire file systems must be replicated
• FS_LOCATION attribute for each file
• Replicated servers: implementation specific

34. Organization of CODA file system – Fault tolerance

and security
The overall organization of AFS.

The internal organization of a Virtue workstation.

(Incomplete)
QP-Sep2010 - With reference to CODA file system,
explain communication, process and server
replication
Coda File System
• Descendant of CMU’s Andrew File System (AFS)
• AFS’ Design for Scalability
– Whole-file serving:
• on opening a file, the entire file is transferred to client
– Whole-file caching:
• persistent cache contains most recently used files on that computer.
– Observations:
• shared files updated infrequently
• working set of single user typically fits into cache on local machine
• file access patterns
• what about transactional data (databases)
• Coda/AFS Architecture:
– Small number of dedicated Vice file servers.
– Much larger collection of Virtue workstations give users and
processes access to the file system.
– Coda provides globally shared name space.

10
CODA: Communication
• Interprocess communication using RCP2
(http://www.coda.cs.cmu.edu/doc/html/rpc2_manual.html)
• RPC2 provides reliable RPC over UDP.
• Support for Side Effects
– RPC connections may be associated with Side-Effects to allow
application-specific network optimizations to be performed. An
example is the use of a specialized protocol for bulk transfer of large
files. Detailed information pertinent to each type of side effect is
specified in a Side Effect Descriptor.
– Adding support for a new type of side effect is analogous to adding a
new device driver in Unix. To allow this extensibility, the RPC code
has hooks at various points where side-effect routines will be called.
Global tables contain pointers to these side effect routines. The basic
RPC code itself knows nothing about these side-effect routines.
• Support for MultiRPC (enables for parallel calls, e.g.
invalidations)

10
CODA: Communication
• Interprocess communication using RCP2
(http://www.coda.cs.cmu.edu/doc/html/rpc2_manual.html)
• RPC2 provides reliable RPC over UDP.
• Support for Side Effects
– RPC connections may be associated with Side-Effects to allow
application-specific network optimizations to be performed. An
example is the use of a specialized protocol for bulk transfer of large
files. Detailed information pertinent to each type of side effect is
specified in a Side Effect Descriptor.
– Adding support for a new type of side effect is analogous to adding a
new device driver in Unix. To allow this extensibility, the RPC code
has hooks at various points where side-effect routines will be called.
Global tables contain pointers to these side effect routines. The basic
RPC code itself knows nothing about these side-effect routines.
• Support for MultiRPC (enables for parallel calls, e.g.
invalidations)

Coda: Processes
• Clear distinction between client and server processes
• Venus processes represent clients.
• Vice processes represent servers.
• All processes realized as collection of user-level threads.
• Additional low-level thread handles I/O operations (why?)

(Replication incomplete)

35. DSM System – Different algorithms, Granularity &

page replacement

Issues:
Keeping track of remote data locations
Overcoming/reducing communication delays and protocol overheads when accessing
remote data.
Making shared data concurrently available to improve performance.

Types of algorithms:
Central-server
Data migration
Read-replication
Full-replication

Client Server Algorithm

• Central server maintains all the shared data.

• It services read/write requests from clients, by returning data items.
• Timeouts and sequence numbers can be employed for retransmitting requests (which
did not get responses).
• Simple to implement, but central server can become a bottleneck.

Migration Algorithm

• Data is shipped to the requesting node, allowing subsequent accesses to be done

locally.
• Typically, whole block/page migrates to help access to other data.
• Susceptible to thrashing: page migrates between nodes while serving only a few
requests.
• Alternative: minimum duration or minimum accesses before a page can be migrated
(e.g., the Mirage system).

Migration algorithm can be combined with virtual memory.

(e.g.,) if a page fault occurs, check memory map table.

If map table points to a remote page, migrate the page before mapping it to the requesting process’s
address space.

Several processes can share a page at a node.

Locating remote page:

Use a server that tracks the page locations.
Use hints maintained at nodes. Hints can direct the search for a page toward the node holding the page.
Broadcast a query to locate a page.
36. List and explain load distribution algorithms in
distributed systems and 4 components.

37. Sender/Receiver distributed algorithm

38. Adaptive load distribution algorithm

For these questions read 7-23 slides of load.pdf

From 39 to 42 Questions and Answers follow DS-

Secu.pdf
43. Explain advantages of distributed systems
Advantages
•Resource sharing
–Hardware and software resources can be shared
–Printer, Compiler, Text Editors, Databases, etc.
•Enhanced performance
–Rapid response time
–Higher system throughput
–Many tasks can be concurrently executed at different computers
–Distributed system can employ load distribution techniques
–Tasks at heavily loaded systems are transferred to lightly loaded computers
–Waiting time of a task can be reduced

•Improved reliability and availability

–Few components of the system can fail without affecting the availability

–System can be made fault tolerant through replication of data and services

–Data can be files and directories and services can be the processes that provide functionality
•Modular expandability
–New hardware and software can be easily added without replacing the existing system

QP-Mar2010 - Explain about the architectural model of

Distributed system
a. 3 different distributed systems architecture
i. Minicomputers model
ii.Workstation model
iii.Processor pool model

b. Issues in designing distributed systems (Any 3 issues)

DS can be classified into three broad categories

–Minicomputer model
–Workstation model
–Processor pool model

Minicomputer Model
•DS consists of several minicomputers
–e.g. VAX processors
•Each machine supports multiple users and share resources
•Ratio between no. of processors to no. off users is usually less than one

Workstation Model
 •Consists of several workstations ( up to several thousands)
•Each user has a workstation at his disposal, which consist of powerful processor, memory and display
•With the help of DFS, users can access data regardless of its location
•Ratio between no. of processors to no. of users is usually 1
•e.g. Athena and Andrew

Processor Pool Model

•Ratio between processor to no. of users is normally greater than 1
•This model allocates one or more processors according to users’ need
•Once the processors complete their jobs, they return to the pool and await a new assignment
•Amoeba is a combination of the processor pool model and workstation model

B) Issues in DS

 Global Knowledge
 Naming
 Scalability
 Compatibility
 Process Synchronization
 Resource Management
 Security
 Structuring
 Client-Server Model

Global Knowledge
 Lack of global shared memory, global clock, unpredictable message delays
 Lead to unpredictable global state, difficult to order events (A sends to B, C sends to D:
may be related)

Naming
 Need for a name service: to identify objects (files, databases), users, services (RPCs).
 Replicated directories? : Updates may be a problem.
 Need for name to (IP) address resolution.
 Distributed directory: algorithms for update, search, ...

Scalability
 System requirements should (ideally) increase linearly with the number of computer
systems
 Includes: overheads for message exchange in algorithms used for file system updates,
directory management...

Compatibility
 Binary level: Processor instruction level compatibility
 Execution level: same source code can be compiled and executed
 Protocol level: Mechanisms for exchanging messages, information (e.g., directories)
understandable.

Process Synchronization
 Distributed shared memory: difficult.
Resource Management
 Data/object management: Handling migration of files, memory values. To achieve a
transparent view of the distributed system.
 Main issues: consistency, minimization of delays, ..
Security
 Authentication and authorization

Structuring

 Monolithic Kernel: Not needed (e.g.,) file management not needed fully on diskless workstations.
 Collective kernel: distributed functionality on all systems.
 Micro kernel + set of OS processes
 Micro kernel: functionality for task, memory, processor management. Runs on all
systems.
 OS processes: set of tools. Executed as needed.
 Object-oriented system: services as objects.
 Object types: process, directory, file, …

Operations on the objects: encapsulated data can be manipulated

44. Access protocol – Security for bus and ring

topology – CDMA
Contention

•Depending on the network topology, a link may connect more than two sites in the computer network,

•It is possible that several sites will want to transmit information over a link simultaneously

•This difficulty occurs mainly in a ring or multiaccess bus network. In this case, the transmitted information
may become scrambled and must be discarded
•Several techniques have been developed to avoid repeated collisions, including collision detection, token
passing, and message slots.
–CSMA/CD:
•Before transmitting a message over a link, a site must listen to determine whether another message is
currently being transmitted over that link;
•this technique is called carrier sense with multiple access (CSMA). If the link is free, the site can start
transmitting
•Otherwise it must wait (and continue to listen) until the link is free. If two or more sites begin transmitting
at exactly the same time (each thinking that no other site is using the link), then they will register a
collision detection (CD)and will stop transmitting.
Token Passing:
–A unique message type, known as a token, continuously circulates in the system (usually a ring
structure)
–A site that wants to transmit information must wait until the token arrives. It removes the token from the
ring and begins to transmit its messages
–When the site completes its round of message passing, it transmits the token
–This action, in turn, allows another site to receive and remove the token, and to starts its message
transmission. If the token gets lost, then the systems must detect the loss and generate a new token
–They usually do that by declaring an election, to elect a unique site where a new token will be generated.
A token-passing scheme has been adopted by the IBM and HP/Apollo systems. The benefit of a token-
passing network is that performance is constant.

•Message Slots:
–A number of fixed-length message slots continuously circulate in the system (usually a ring structure)
–Each slot can hold a fixed-sized message and control information (such as what the source and destination are, and
whether the slot is empty or full)
–A site that is ready to transmit must wait until an empty slot arrives. If then inserts its message into the slot, setting
the appropriate control information
–The slot with its message then continues in the network. When it arrives at a site, that site inspects the control
information to determine whether the slot contains a message for this site. If not, that site re-circulates the slot and
message. Otherwise, it removes the message, resetting the control information to indicate that the slot is empty.

45. Message passing models used to develop

communication primitives
Communication Primitives

A means to send raw bit streams of data in distributed environment

•There are two models that are widely accepted to develop distributed operating system.

–Message Passing
–Remote procedure call.

Message Passing Model

•The Message Passing model provides two basic communication Primitives

•The send Primitives has two parameters:

–A message and its destination.
•The send primitive has also two parameters:
–The source of a message and a buffer for storing the message.
•An application of these primitives can be found in client server computation model.

Blocking VS. Non Blocking Primitives

•In the standard message passing model messages are copied three times
–From user buffer to kernel buffer
–From kernel buffer on sending computer to kernel buffer to the kernel buffer on receiving computer.
–From receiving buffer to user buffer.
•With non-blocking primitive, the send primitive return the control to user process.
•While the Receiving primitive respond by signaling and provide a buffer to copy.
•A significant disadvantages of non-blocking is that programming becomes difficult.

•In the unbufferedoption, data is copied from one user buffer to another user directly.

•With Blocking primitives, the send primitive does not return the control to the user program until the
message has been sent (an unreliable blocking primitive) or until an acknowledgment has been received (
a reliable blocking primitive).

•In both cases user buffer can be reused.

Synchronous Vs Asynchronous Primitives

•With synchronous primitive, a send primitive is block until a corresponding Receive primitive is executed
at the receiving computer.

•With asynchronous primitive ,the messages are buffered.

•A send primitive is not block even if no corresponding execution of a receive primitive.

Remote Procedural Call

•A More natural way to communicate is through Procedural call:
–every language supports it .

–semantics are well defined and understood .

–natural for programmers to use.

•Programmer Using such a model must handle the following details:

–Pairing of responses with request messages.

–Data representation.

–Knowing the address of remote machine on the server

–Taking care of communication and system failure

Basic RPC Operation

•The RPC Mechanism is based on the observation that a procedural call is well known for transfer of
control and data with in a program running an a single machine.

•On invoking a remote procedure, the calling process is suspended.

•If any parameter are passed to the remote machine where the procedure will execute.
•On completion, the result are passed back from server to client and resuming execution as if it had called
a local procedure.
RPC System Components
•Message module
–IPC module of Send/Receive/Reply

–responsible for exchanging messages

•Stub procedures(client and server stubs)
–a stub is a communications interface that implements the RPC protocol and specifies how messages are
constructed and exchanged

–responsible for packing and unpacking of arguments and results (this is also referred to as “marshaling”)

–these procedures are automatically generated by “stub generators” or “protocol compilers” (more later)

•Client stub
–packs the arguments with the procedure name or ID into a message
–sends the msgto the server and then awaits a reply msg
–unpacks the results and returns them to the client

•Server stub
–receives a request msg
–unpacks the arguments and calls the appropriate server procedure
–when it returns, packs the result and sends a reply msgback to the client

QP-Sep2010. Write short notes on memory coherence

QP-Sep2010.Explaing in detail the block cipher DES
Block ciphers
Block Cipher technique involves encryption of one block of text at a
time.
Decryption also takes one block of encrypted text at a time.
Symmetric Cryptosystem: DES
Data Encryption Standard is used for symmetric cryptosystems.
DES is designed to operate on 64-bit blocks of data.
A block is transformed in to an encrypted (64bit) block of output
in 16 rounds.
Where each round uses a different 48-bit key for encryption.
Each of these 16 keys is derived from a 56-bit master key

Triple DES or 3DESSecurity concerns over DES led to the creation of Triple DES(3DES). In 3DES,l the
plaintext is first encrypted using the key K1,then decrypted using the key K2 and then finally encrypted
once again using the key K3. This is called the 3 key triple DES.
Appendix

Questions from old question papers (Test 1)

Introduction
1. With Suitable examples explain the fields of application of distributed systems?
2. What is global state? Explain the mechanism of distributed snapshot.
3. What are Goals of DS? Explain briefly.
4. Explain the different system architectures of DS.
5. Enumerate the fundamental characters required for DS.
6. How DS operating system differs from normal OS.
7. Discuss about various characteristics of DS.

RPC
1. Describe Remote Procedure call RPC with example.
2. What is Distributed object based system? Discuss how object-based system is differ from
conventional RPC system.
3. Explain the mechanism of RPC with diagram.

DNS
1. Write a note on i) DNS ii)X.500
2. Explain about Directory and Discovery services of Name Services.
3. Discuss the problems raised by the uses of aliases in a name service and indicate how, if
at all these may be overcome.

Model
1. Describe thread synchronization, thread scheduling and thread implementation in
Distributed OS.
2. What is fundamental model? Discuss the features.
3. Explain about the Architecture Models of DS.
4. What is Architect Model? Discuss in brief Client-server model.

RMI
1. Describe RMI. Discuss the design issues of RMI.
Mobile
1. Write a note on i) Mobile code ii)Mobile Agent
2. Differentiate between Mobile agents and codes.

Communication
1. Discuss in brief the Client –Server communication process.
2. Discuss the architecture of CORBA.
3. With a supporting diagram explain the general organization of an internet search engine
showing three different layers(UI layer, processing layer and data layer).

Test 3 Syllabus Questions

1. DSM(distributed shared memory) Algorithms (different types of

algorithms)

2. Discuss granularity and replacement algorithms in DSM.

3. Different distribution algorithm components (Transfer

policy/Location policy) etc –

4. Load distribution algorithms - Sender initiated distributed

algorithms

5. Load distribution algorithms -Discuss Adaptive load distributive

algorithms.