Fault tolerant and robust mutual exclusion protocol for synchronous distrbuted systems

Abstract

A novel symmetrical, fully distributed, robust and fault-tolerant protocol for mutual exclusion with low message traffic is proposed. The protocol is based on reliable multicast communication in a network of processes. A brief description of the protocol is given. Guidelines for choice of time-outs and delays are presented, and complexity issues of the protocol are outlined along with a sensitivity analysis for robustness. The protocol was implemented as a detailed simulation model in terms of a class of the extended Petri nets. The results of the simulation study of a distributed system with the proposed protocol of mutual exclusion, for different numbers of processes in the group and different loads, are discussed.