Distributed Systems Handbook
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DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS HANDBOOK ~DmDDmD Copyright @ 1978 by Digital Equipment Corporation This book was written and edited on DIGITAL Word Processing Systems (31 OW, WTI78, and WPS 102). The finished text (on WPS floppy disks) was input to the DECset-8000 computerized typesetting system and, via a translator program, was typeset automatically without manual mark-up. Quotation on the opposite page is from THE PEOPLE, YES by Carl Sandburg. Copyright 1936 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.; renewed 1964 by Carl Sandburg. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Massachusetts: DIGITAL o ECsystem-l 0 MASSBUS DEC DECSYSTEM-20 OMNIBUS PDP DI80L 05/8 DECUS EDUSYSTEM RSTS UNIBUS VAX RSX VMS lAS First Edition, June 1978 He took the wheel in a lashing roaring hurricane And by what compass did he steer the course of the ship? "My policy is to have no policy," he said in the early months, And three years later, "I have been controlled by events." THE PEOPLE, YES by Carl Sardburg FOREWORD Computers will eventually have as much impact on our lives as the automobile has had. The computer that began as an expensive and difficult-to-use tool for very special problems is becoming widely used in the office and factory, and even the home. Digital Equipment Corporation is proud to have been part, along with our customers, of many of the most innovative and foresighted uses of computers. From the beginning we have believed that com puters should be tools that could be used by people who need infor mation to do their jobs. We have promoted the design of interactive computer systems that can be placed where they are needed. We see the trend toward the increased use of interactive, distributed com puter systems as confirmation of our basic philosophy. We have always believed that what is good for our customers is good for the computer industry, and what is good for the industry is good for us. This has led us to produce a series of handbooks, shar ing our insight to various computer topics. We are pleased to add this handbook to the collection and to share our insight into the design of interactive, distributed computer systems. Kenneth H. Olsen President v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Information systems, uses of information, "but I'm not a com puternik," management needs, distributed computer systems, key terms. Chapter 2. Computers as Information Tools 13 Background, how computers are used, computers as information tools, summary. Chapter 3. Effective Information Systems 29 Planning, building systems around organization, information flow within organizations, information usage, long-term planning, sum mary. Chapter 4. Minicomputers and Information Systems 39 "What is a minicomputer?", minicomputer usage, networks of minicomputers, minicomputers working with bigger systems, sum mary. Chapter 5. Building Distributed Systems 47 Management considerations, design team, construction phases, overview of process, summary. Chapter 6. Key Management Decisions 53 The manager's role in building information systems, distributed system concerns, building the right system, the benefit of your pres ence, summary. vii viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 7. Key EDP Management Decisions 63 Role in the distributed systems team, the balancing act, critical dis tributed system decisions, computer system productivity, summary. Chapter 8. Usable Systems 83 Why usability is so important, how to test usability, characteristics of usability, achieving usability, summary. Chapter 9. Information Work Stations, A Design Model 95 Simplifying the problem, information work stations, building auto mated applications with work stations, specifying work stations, management information systems, information transactions, com munication with messages or common data, distributed data bases in a work station design, work stations and existing computer sys tems, special workstations, summary. Chapter 10. Data Communications and Networks 117 Communicating data, the telephone system, intelligent commu nications and networks, utilizing communication services, provid ing communication services, telephone standards - CCITT, DECnet, summary. Chapter n. Technological Forces 161 Background, integrated circuit (IC) technology, magnetic disk tech nology, electronic data communications technology, summary. Chapter 12. Distributed System Design Goals 167 Availability, data integrity, system responsiveness, security, data privacy, system adaptability, summary. Chapter 13. Distributed System Design Techniques 177 Improving system availability, increasing data integrity, improving system responsiveness, improving data security, techniques for building adaptable systems; summary. Chapter 14. A Peek at the Future 197 .Data transmission, office automation, pictur~s, total information systems, summary. TABLE OF CONTENTS ix Chapter 15. Distributed System Applications 203 Laboratory systems, medical information systems, plant manage ment systems, publication, financial wire service computers, retail merchandising, management science applications, insurance claim processing, summary. Appendix A. Case Studies 211 A taxonomic model, government agency support, automotive parts and vehicle distribution, railroad yard management, automotive en gine testing, an emergency telephone network, mini case studies. Appendix B. Digital Equipment Corporation Products 263 Computer systems, software systems. PREFACE Today it costs more to fill your car with gasoline than it does to buy a general purpose (micro) computer (a single integrated circuit de vice). This apparent phenomenon results from 25 years of steady improvement in computer system cost/performance (the cost to perform a given processing function). As computers become less expensive, they are used more widely. As yet, no bound to ultimate computer cost reduction has been found. If a computer application is close to cost-effective today, then it will be cost-effective soon. WHY WE WROTE THIS BOOK Over the years, Digital Equipment Corporation has created a series of handbooks, each of which shared our insight and experience in a particular computer-related topic. This handbook is about distributed systems, particularly those that utilize computers. The primary reasons for writing the book were to define a distributed system and to discuss the future of distributed processmg. Distributed systems are nothing new - many of the minicomputer systems we have built serve distributed processing applications. Our avant-garde customers were distributing their data processing long before the first advertisement heralded its arrival. xi xii DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS HANDBOOK But the impact of distributed systems has grown to the point where it affects most computer professionals as well as many people who haven't yet had much to do with computers. In this handbook we discuss many of the subjects that relate to distributed systems focussing particularly on these points: • the benefits of using a computer system • who should participate in the system design • some of the major design problems Our key concerns are • how to design computer systems that non-experts can use to do their job effectively • how data communications systems and computer network systems can link many widely separated individuals This is the first edition of the DistributedSystems Handbook. We plan to publish future editions that incorporate new technology and understanding and that can benefit from response to earlier ver sions. A reader response card has been included in the handbook, and we really look forward to hearing from readers. In the past, we made computers for engineers and programmers, and our handbooks were written for, and by, engineers and pro grammers. But many of our new and important customers are nei ther engineers nor programmers, because the computer is now a valuable tool for many more purposes than in the past. So this book is not about the details of programming or computer design. Instead, it's about how computer systems can be used to manage the information that most of us need to do our jobs. PREFACE xiii DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS? Do You Use Information In Your Job? If you are reading this book, the chances are you use information as an important part of your job. You need to receive information from other people in order to plan and execute your own work, and you need to inform others of your progress and problems. Do You Use Formal Information Systems? Unless you work in a small enterprise, some of the information you need and produce probably travels through formal information sys tems. For example, you read and produce status reports. You send memos. You attend regular meetings. Does the Information Matter? Does the accuracy or timeliness of the information you use make a difference in the quality of job you carr do? Unless information is really secondary to your work, the quality of the information you use is important to you, and the quality of the information you generate is important to others. If you use information from formal systems (something more than chatting with the person at the next desk), and the information is valuable to your work, you will probably be using a computerized in formation system in the not-so-distant future, if you don't use one already. Are Any of Your Competitors Using Computers? If you're unsure whether you'll ever need a computer, but some of your competitors are starting to use them, then this book