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GRAPEVINE

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GRAPEVINE

Grapevine:
an Exercise in Distributed Computing

by Andrew D. Birrell, Roy Levin, Roger M. Needham* and Michael D. Schroeder

CSL-82-4June 1982[P82-00035]

c Copyright Association for Computing Machinery 1982. Printed with permission.

Abstract: Grapevine is a multicomputer system on the Xerox research internet. It provides facilities for the delivery of digital messages such as computer mail; for naming people, machines, and services; for authenticating people and machines; and for locating services on the internet. This paper has two goals: to describe the system itself and to serve as a case study of a real application of distributed computing. Part I describes the set of services provided by Grapevine and how its data and function are divided among computers on the internet. Part II presents in more detail selected aspects of Grapevine that illustrate novel facilities or implementation techniques, or that provide insight into the structure of a distributed system. Part III summarizes the current state of the system and the lessons learned from it so far.

This paper appeared in Communications of the ACM, Vol. 25, No. 4, April 1982.

* Roger M. Needham’s regular address is University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QG, United Kingdom

XEROX

Xerox Corporation
Palo Alto Research Centers
3333 Coyote Hill Road
Palo Alto, California 94304

CR Categories and Subject Descriptors: C.2.4 [Computer-Communication Networks]: Distributed Systems—distributed applications, distributed databases; C.4 [Performance of Systems]—reliability, availability, and serviceability; D.4.7 [Operating Systems]: Organization and Design—distributed systems; H.2.4 [Database Management]: Systems—distributed systems; H.2.7 [Database Management]: Database Administration; H.4.3 [Information Systems Applications]: Communications Applications—electronic mail

General Terms: Design, Experimentation, Reliability