Distributed Computing Paradigms

Mei-Ling Liu

Distributed Computing
09/30/22 Paradigms, M. Liu 1
Paradigms for Distributed Applications
Paradigm means “a pattern, example, or model.” In the
study of any subject of great complexity, it is useful to
identify the basic patterns or models, and classify the detail
according to these models. This paper aims to present a
classification of the paradigms for distributed applications.
Characteristics that distinguish distributed applications
from conventional applications which run on a single
machine. These characteristics are:
 Interprocess communication: A distributed application require the

participation of two or more independent entities (processes). To

do so, the processes must have the ability to exchange data among
themselves.
 Event synchronization: In a distributed application, the sending

and receiving of data among the participants of a distributed

application must be synchronized.

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 2
Abstractions
Arguably the most fundamental concept in computer
science, abstraction is the idea of detail hiding. To quote
David J. Barnes1:
We often use abstraction when it is not necessary to know
the exact details of how something works or is
represented, because we can still make use of it in its
simplified form. Getting involved with the detail often
tends to obscure what we are trying to understand, rather
than illuminate it … Abstraction plays a very important
role in programming because we often want to model, in
software, simplified versions of things that exist in the real
world … without having to build the real things.
In software engineering, abstraction is realized with the provision of
tools or facilities which allow software to be built without the
developer having to be cognizant of some of the underlying
complexities.
Distributed Computing Paradigms,
09/30/22 M. Liu 3
Distributed Application Paradigms

l e ve l o f abstr ac ti o n
hi g h

o bje c t spac e
ne tw o r k se r vi c e s , o bje c t r e que st br o ke r , m o bi l e ag e nt
r e m o te pr o c e dur e c al l , r e m o te m e tho d i nvo c ati o n
c l i e nt-se r ve r

m e ssag e passi ng

low

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 4
The Message Passing Paradigm
Message passing is the most fundamental paradigm for
distributed applications.
 A process sends a message representing a request.

 The message is delivered to a receiver, which

processes the request, and sends a message in

response.
 In turn, the reply may trigger a further request,

which leads to a subsequent reply, and so forth. The

message-

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 5
The Message Passing Paradigm - 2
Message passing is the most fundamental paradigm for distributed
applications.
A process sends a message representing a request.
The message is delivered to a receiver, which processes the
request, and sends a message in response.
In turn, the reply may trigger a further request, which leads to a
subsequent reply, and so forth. -

Proce s s A
Proce s s B

a m es s age

Me s sage pas sin g

Distributed Computing Paradigms,
09/30/22 M. Liu 6
The Message Passing Paradigm - 3
The basic operations required to support the basic message
passing paradigm are send, and receive.
For connection-oriented communication, the operations connect
and disconnect are also required.
With the abstraction provided by this model, the interconnected
processes perform input and output to each other, in a manner
similar to file I/O. The I/O operations encapsulate the detail of
network communication at the operating-system level.
The socket application programming interface is based on this
paradigm.
 http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.2/docs/api/index.html

 http://www.sockets.com/

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 7
The Client-Server Paradigm
Perhaps the best known paradigm for network applications,
the client-server2 model assigns asymmetric roles to two
collaborating processes.
One process, the server, plays the role of a service provider
which waits passively for the arrival of requests. The other,
the client, issues specific requests to the server and awaits
its response.
s e r vic e r e q ue s t
a c lie nt pr o c e s s
a s e r ve r pr o c e s s
S e r ve r h o s t a s e rvic e

C l i ent ho st
...

Th e C l i e n t - S e r ve r P ar ad i g m , c o n c e p t u al

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 8
The Client-Server Paradigm - 2
Simple in concept, the client-server model provides an
efficient abstraction for the delivery of network services.
Operations required include those for a server process to
listen and to accept requests, and for a client process to
issue requests and accept responses.
By assigning asymmetric roles to the two sides, event
synchronization is simplified: the server process waits for
requests, and the client in turn waits for responses.
Many Internet services are client-server applications. These
services are often known by the protocol that the
application implements. Well known Internet services
include HTTP, FTP, DNS, finger, gopher, etc.

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 9
The Peer-to-Peer System Architecture
http://www.peer-to-peerwg.org/whatis/index.html

In system architecture and networks, peer-to-peer

is an architecture where computer resources and
services are direct exchanged between computer
systems.
These resources and services include the exchange
of information, processing cycles, cache storage,
and disk storage for files..
In such an architecture, computers that have
traditionally been used solely as clients
communicate directly among themselves and can
act as both clients and servers, assuming whatever
role is most efficient for the network.
Distributed Computing Paradigms,
09/30/22 M. Liu 10
The Peer-to-Peer Distributed Computing Paradigm
In the peer-to-peer paradigm, the participating processes
play equal roles, with equivalent capabilities and
responsibilities (hence the term “peer”). Each participant
may issue a request to another participant and receive a
response.

pr o c e s s 1

re qu e s t re qu e s t
re s po n s e
re s po n s e

pr o c e s s 2

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 11
Peer-to-Peer distributed computing
Whereas the client-server paradigm is an ideal model
for a centralized network service, the peer-to-peer
paradigm is more appropriate for applications such as
instant messaging, peer-to-peer file transfers, video
conferencing, and collaborative work. It is also
possible for an application to be based on both the
client-server model and the peer-to-peer model.

A well-known example of a peer-to-peer file transfer

service is Napster.com or similar sites which allow files
(primarily audio files) to be transmitted among
computers on the Internet. It makes use of a server
for directory in addition to the peer-to-peer
computing.
Distributed Computing Paradigms,
09/30/22 M. Liu 12
 Distributed Computing Paradigms,
09/30/22 M. Liu 13
Peer-to-Peer distributed computing
The peer-to-peer paradigm can be implemented with
facilities using any tool that provide message-passing, or
with a higher-level tool such as one that supports the point-
to-point model of the Message System paradigm.
For web applications, the web agent is a protocol promoted
by the XNSORG (the XNS Public Trust Organization) for
peer-to-peer interprocess communication
“Project JXTA is a set of open, generalized peer-to-peer
protocols that allow any connected device (cell phone, to
PDA, PC to server) on the network to communicate and
collaborate. JXTA is short for Juxtapose, as in side by
side. It is a recognition that peer to peer is juxtapose to
client server or Web based computing -- what is
considered today's traditional computing model. “
Distributed Computing Paradigms,
09/30/22 M. Liu 14
The Message System Paradigm
The Message System or Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM) paradigm is
an elaboration of the basic message-passing paradigm.
In this paradigm, a message system serves as an intermediary among
separate, independent processes.
The message system acts as a switch for messages, through which
processes exchange messages asynchronously, in a decoupled manner.
A sender deposits a message with the message system, which forwards it to
a message queue associated with each receiver. Once a message is sent,
the sender is free to move on to other tasks.

re ce iv e r s
m e ssage syste m s e n de r
...

...

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 15
Two subtypes of message system
models
The Point-To-Point Message Model
In this model, a message system forwards a message from the sender
to the receiver’s message queue. Unlike the basic message passing
model, the middleware provides a message depository, and allows the
sending and the receiving to be decoupled. Via the middleware, a
sender deposits a message in the message queue of the receiving
process. A receiving process extracts the messages from its message
queue, and handles each one accordingly.
Compared to the basic message-passing model, this paradigm provides
the additional abstraction for asynchronous operations. To achieve the
same effect with basic message-passing, a developer will have to make
use of threads or child processes.

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 16
The Publish/Subscribe Message Model
In this model, each message is associated with a specific
topic or event. Applications interested in he
occurrence of a specific event may subscribe to
messages for that event. When the awaited event
occurs, the process publishes a message announcing the
event or topic. The middleware message system
distributes the message to all its subscribers.
The publish/subscribe message model offers a powerful
abstraction for multicasting or group communication.
The publish operation allows a process to multicast to a
group of processes, and the subscribe operation allows a
process to listen for such multicast.

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 17
Toolkits based on the Message-System Paradigm
The MOM paradigm has had a long history in distributed
applications.
Message Queue Services (MQS) have been in use since the
1980’s.
The IBM MQ*Series6 is an example of such a facility.
http://www-4.ibm.com/software/ts/mqseries/
Other existing support for this paradigm are
 Microsoft’s Message Queue (MSQ),
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/psdk/msmq/
msmq_overview_4ilh.htm
 Java’s Message Service

http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Ne
tworking/messaging/

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 18
 Remote Procedure Call
As applications grew increasingly complex, it became
desirable to have a paradigm which allows distributed
software to be programmed in a manner similar to
conventional applications which run on a single processor.
The Remote Procedure Call (RPC) model provides such an
abstraction. Using this model, interprocess
communications proceed as procedure, or function, calls,
which are familiar to application programmers.
A remote procedure call involves two independent
processes, which may reside on separate machines. A
process, A, wishing to make a request to another process,
B, issues a procedure call to B, passing with the call a list of
argument values. As in the case of local procedure calls,
a remote procedure call triggers a predefined action in a
procedure provided by process B. At the completion of the
procedure, process B returns a value to process A.

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 19
 Remote Procedure Call - 2

Pro ce s s B
Pro ce s s A

p ro c 1 ( ar g 1 , arg 2 )

p ro c 2 (arg 1 )

p ro c 3 ( ar g 1 ,ar g 2 ,arg 3 )

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 20
 Remote Procedure Call - 3
RPC allows programmers to build network applications
using a programming construct similar to the local
procedure call, providing a convenient abstraction for
both interprocess communication and event
synchronization.
Since its introduction in the early 1980s, the Remote
Procedure Call model has been widely in use in network
applications.
There are two prevalent APIs for Remote Procedure Calls.
 The Open Network Computing Remote Procedure Call,
evolved from the RPC API originated from Sun
Microsystems in the early 1980s.
 The Open Group Distributed Computing Environment

(DCE) RPC.
Both APIs provide a tool, rpcgen, for transforming remote
procedure calls to local procedure calls to the stub.

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 21
 The Distributed Objects Paradigms
The idea of applying object orientation to
distributed applications is a natural extension of
object-oriented software development.
Applications access objects distributed over a
network.
Objects provide methods, through the invocation
of which an application obtains access to services.
Object-oriented paradigms include:
 Remote method invocation (RMI)

 Network services

 Object request broker

 Object spaces

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 22
 Remote Method Invocation (RMI)
Remote method invocation is the object-oriented equivalent
of remote method calls.
In this model, a process invokes the methods in an object,
which may reside in a remote host.
As with RPC, arguments may be passed with the invocation.

P rocess 2
P rocess 1
re m o t e m e t h o d in v o ca t io n m e t h o d1
m e t h o d2

a re m o t e o bje ct

The R e m o te M e t h o d C al l P ar ad i g m

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 23
 The Network Services Paradigm
In this paradigm, service providers register themselves with
directory servers on a network. A process desiring a particular
service contacts the directory server at run time, and, if the service
is available, will be provided a reference to the service. Using the
reference, the process interacts with the service.
This paradigm is essentially an extension of the remote method
call paradigm. The difference is that service objects are registered
with a global directory service, allowing them to be look up and
accessed by service requestors on a federated network.
Java’s Jini12 technology isD ire
based on this paradigm.
ct o ry s e rv ice

s e rv ice o bje ct

S e rv ice re qu e s to r

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 24
The Object Request broker Paradigm
In the object broker paradigm , an application issues requests
to an object request broker (ORB), which directs the request to
an appropriate object that provides the desired service.
The paradigm closely resembles the remote method
invocation model in its support for remote object access. The
difference is that the object request broker in this paradigm
functions as a middleware which allows an application, as an
object requestor, to potentially access multiple remote (or
local) objects.
The request broker may also function as an mediator for
heterogeneous objects, allowing interactions among objects
implemented using different APIs and /or running on different
platforms.
O bje ct
O bje ct
R e qu e s tor

O bje ct R e qu e s t B rok e r

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 25
The Object Request broker Paradigm - 2
This paradigm is the basis of the Object Management
Group’s CORBA (Common Object Request Broker
Architecture) architecture.
http://www.corba.org/
Tool kits based on the architecture include:
 Inprise’s Visibroker
http://www.inprise.com/visibroker/
 Java’s Interface Development Language (Java IDL)
http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/idl/
 Orbix’s IONA, and TAO from the Object Computing,
Inc.
http://www.corba.org/vendors/pages/iona.html

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 26
 The Object Space Paradigm
Perhaps the most abstract of the object-oriented paradigms, the
object space paradigm assumes the existence of logical entities
known as object spaces.
The participants of an application converge in a common object
space.
A provider places objects as entries into an object space, and
requesters who subscribe to the space access the entries.

re qu e s to r pro vide r

re a
re qu e s tor d w r ite
r ead

A n O bje ct S pace

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 27
 The Object Space Paradigm - 2

In addition to the abstractions provided by

other paradigms, the object space paradigm
provides a virtual space or meeting room
among provides and requesters of network
resources or objects. This abstraction hides the
detail involved in resource or object lookup
needed in paradigms such as remote method
invocation, object request broker, or network
services.
Current facilities based on this paradigm include
JavaSpaces
http://java.sun.com/products/javaspaces/.
Distributed Computing Paradigms,
09/30/22 M. Liu 28
 Component-based Technologies
Component-based technologies such as Microsoft’s COM,
Microsoft DCOM, Java Bean, and Enterprise Java Bean
are also based on distributed-object paradigms, as
components are essentially specialized, packaged
objects designed to interact with each other through
standardized interfaces.
In addition, application servers, popular for enterprise
applications, are middleware facilities which provide
access to objects or components.
IBM’s WebSphere,
http://www.as400.ibm.com/products/websphere/docs/as400v35/doc
s/admover.html

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 29
 The Mobile Agent Paradigm
A mobile agent is a transportable program or object.
In this model, an agent is launched from an originating host.
The agent travels from host to host according to an itinerary that
it carries.
At each stop, the agent accesses the necessary resources or
services, and performs the necessary tasks to accomplish its
mission. Ho s t 2

Ho s t 1

Ho s t 3
ag en t

Ho s t 4

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 30
 The Mobile Agent Paradigm - 2
The paradigm offers the abstraction for a transportable
program or object.
In lieu of message exchanges, data is carried by the
program/object as the program is transported among
the participants.
Commercial packages which support the mobile agent
paradigm include:
 Mitsubishi Electric ITA’s Concordia system

http://www.meitca.com/HSL/Projects/Concordia/Welcom
e.html

IBM’s Aglet system.

http://www.trl.ibm.co.jp/aglets/

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 31
 The Collaborative Application
(Groupware) Paradigm
In this model, processes participate in a collaborative session
as a group. Each participating process may contribute input
to part or all of the group.
Processes may do so using:
 multicasting to send data to all or part of the group, or
they may use a
 virtual sketchpads or whiteboards which allows each participant to

read and write data to a shared display.

m es s ag e

m es s ag e

m es s ag e

M e s s a g e -ba s e d g ro u pwa re pa ra dig m W h ite bo a rd-ba s e d g ro u pwa re pa ra dig m

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 32
Summary - 1
We have looked at a wide range of paradigms for
distributed applications.
The paradigms presented were:
 Message passing
 Client-server
 Message system: Point-to-point; Publish/Subscribe
 Distributed objects:
 Remote method invocation
 Object request broker
 Object space
 Mobile agents
 Network services
 Collaborative applications
Distributed Computing Paradigms,
09/30/22 M. Liu 33
Summary - 2
To varying degrees, these paradigm provide
abstractions that insulate the developers from the
detail of interprocess communication and event
synchronization, allowing the programmer to
concentrate on the bigger picture of the
application itself.
In choosing a paradigm or a tool for an
application, there are tradeoffs that should be
considered, including overheads, scalability,
cross-platform support, and software
engineering issues.

Distributed Computing Paradigms,

09/30/22 M. Liu 34