Abstract:
Keywords: flexible applications, high-performance, CORBA, DCOM, ActiveX

As the use of computers becomes synonymous with the use of networks, there has been interest in using networks for distributed applications. However, unlike a single system, the configuration of networks can change rapidly and without knowledge of the applications using the network.

This summer, we are beginning research in software support for flexible high performance distributed applications on commodity hardware. A flexible application allows midstream changes in:

- number of processors allocated for application
- specific processors allocated for application
- object layout/location
- configuration of mirrors of objects for fault tolerance

We also hope to allow externally-directed midstream replacement of specific stateful objects for application configuration and update. We believe that these objectives can be achieved without a substantial loss of performance in the application when these changes are not being made.

At this time, we are planning on using Windows NT on a network of Pentium Pro workstations as the implementation base for this project. The work will leverage the results and techniques learned from the Concert project and integrate them with a distributed object standard such as CORBA or DCOM/ActiveX.