Performance Problems In Distributed Systems*
Liba Svobodova · INFOR Information Systems and Operational Research · 1980
There is a strong indication that for many applications distributed computer systems will replace conventional computer systems built around a large central processor, and that new applications will emerge based on distributed information processing. This paper examines the performance issues involved in the decision to use a distributed system, performance problems that arise in operating such a system, and the characteristics and implementation of the needed performance evaluation tools.The move towards distributed processing has become feasible mainly because of the rapidly dropping cost of computer hardware and the increasing power and flexibility of mini and microcomputers. Lower cost of computer hardware also ought to have an impact on the evaluation of computer system performance, making utilization of hardware resources a much less important factor than it has been so far. Performance related efforts should concentrate on the aspects visible to the user, that is, response time, reliability, and availability.The conventional computer performance evaluation tools and techniques have to be expanded to reflect the new problems found in distributed systems. A primary problem in distributed processing is proper partitioning of computations and data among the processors in the system. New analytical tools are needed to guide the partitioning process. Measurement tools need to be distributed, based on the characteristics of the measured application. Finally, it is necessary to develop techniques for analysing the tradeoffs between performance and reliability in distributed systems.