Abstract
Defining appropriate abstractions is one of the main challenges in computer science. This paper investigates two matching abstractions for implementing read/write objects in a dynamic server system prone to crash failures. The first abstraction concerns dynamic quorum systems. The second is a persistent reliable broadcast communication primitive. These two abstractions capture the essence of basic mechanisms allowing the implementation of atomic objects in a distributed system where servers can dynamically enter and leave the system (or crash). A read protocol and a write protocol based on these abstractions are described and proved correct. The properties defining these abstractions can be seen as requirements that are sufficient for implementing a dynamic storage service, while the feasibility conditions that are stated can be seen as necessary requirements. Instantiating the proposed abstractions in different contexts (e.g., settings defined by specific assumptions on failures, synchrony, message delays and processing times) provides as many system specific protocols.
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Friedman, R., Raynal, M., Travers, C. (2006). Two Abstractions for Implementing Atomic Objects in Dynamic Systems. In: Anderson, J.H., Prencipe, G., Wattenhofer, R. (eds) Principles of Distributed Systems. OPODIS 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3974. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11795490_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11795490_8
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