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Distributed FIFO allocation of identical resources using small shared space

Authors:

Michael J. Fischer,

Nancy A. Lynch,

James E. Burns,

Allan BorodinAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems (TOPLAS), Volume 11, Issue 1

Pages 90 - 114

https://doi.org/10.1145/59287.59292

Published: 01 January 1989 Publication History

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Abstract

We present a simple and efficient algorithm for the FIFO allocation of k identical resources among asynchronous processes that communicate via shared memory. The algorithm simulates a shared queue but uses exponentially fewer shared memory values, resulting in practical savings of time and space as well as program complexity. The algorithm is robust against process failure through unannounced stopping, making it attractive also for use in an environment of processes of widely differing speeds. In addition to its practical advantages, we show that for fixed k, the shared space complexity of the algorithm as a function of the number N of processes is optimal to within a constant factor.

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Index Terms

Distributed FIFO allocation of identical resources using small shared space
1. Software and its engineering
  1. Software organization and properties
    1. Contextual software domains
      1. Operating systems
        Process management
        Concurrency control
        Mutual exclusion
        Process synchronization
        Scheduling
    2. Software system structures
      1. Distributed systems organizing principles
        Organizing principles for web applications
2. Theory of computation
  1. Models of computation
    1. Concurrency
      1. Parallel computing models

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Reviews

Reviewer: Wai Sum Lai

This paper presents the so-called colored ticket algorithm, a space-efficient algorithm that solves the problem of allocating k identical resources among N (> k) asynchronous processes that communicate via shared memory. In addition to its mutual exclusion and deadlock avoidance properties, the algorithm also satisfies the additional requirements of robustness and fairness. The paper is well written. Together with a good list of references, the authors supply enough background information to familiarize the reader with the problem to be solved. They use naive solutions to clearly illustrate the requirements to be satisfied. The authors present the algorithm in a stepwise refinement manner that helps the reader not only to understand its intricacies but also to appreciate its elegance. I would be interested to see a follow-up paper on the applications of this algorithm.

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Published In

cover image ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems

ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems Volume 11, Issue 1

Jan. 1989

167 pages

ISSN:0164-0925

EISSN:1558-4593

DOI:10.1145/59287

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 January 1989

Published in TOPLAS Volume 11, Issue 1

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Abstract

References

Cited By

Index Terms

Recommendations

Shar: Managing Resources in Shared Clusters TITLE2:

The discrete-time preemptive repeat identical priority queue

Stability of Multiclass Queueing Networks Under FIFO Service Discipline

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