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From: darrell@sdcsvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.os
Subject: Re: Why no "real" distributed systems?
Message-ID: <2721@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU>
Date: Sat, 14-Feb-87 07:15:15 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcsvax.2721
Posted: Sat Feb 14 07:15:15 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Feb-87 05:36:41 EST
Sender: darrell@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU
Organization: The Boston Software Works, Inc.
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What about Apollo's OS (don't know its name)?  What about Stanford's
V system?  I've never used either one, but from what I've read they
both seem to be truly distributed.  One could also argue that the VAX/VMS
cluster facility also represents a distributed OS - it provides a truly
transparently distributed file system.

[ I would argue that calling Apollo's Domain a "distributed system" ]
[ would  be close to calling 4.3BSD a "distributed system."  I must ]
[ confess that I do not have an Apollo on which  to  base  this  -- ]
[ it's just folk-lore.                                              ]
[                                                                   ]
[ As for the V-System, I would call that  a  "distributed  system," ]
[ but it is an extremely experimental system from what I can gather ]
[ from the papers.  From what I have heard from folks who have used ]
[ it, there is little or no protection for data.                    ]
[                                                                   ]
[ In summary, when I asked "Why are  there  no  `real'  distributed ]
[ systems?",  I  was  asking why aren't any commercially available? ]
[ It is interesting that this discussion has evolved into the  very ]
[ appropriate question: "What is a distributed system anyhow?"      ]
[                                                                   ]
[ --DL  darrell@beowulf.ucsd.edu                                    ]

-- 
Larry Campbell                                The Boston Software Works, Inc.
Internet: campbell@maynard.uucp             120 Fulton Street, Boston MA 02109
uucp: {alliant,wjh12}!maynard!campbell              +1 617 367 6846
ARPA: campbell%maynard.uucp@harvisr.harvard.edu      MCI: LCAMPBELL