An Experimental Distributed System Development Facility

The basic concepts and a technical description of a distributed system development facility established at Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories are presented. The facility serves as a tool for developing real-time distributed computer systems and for investigating their characteristics. It also provides a total information transport capability which can be tailored to meet specific system requirements. The concept of Levels and Channels is introduced. Four Levels, corresponding to different ranges of communications capabilities, have been defined and implemented using CATV technology. Operating experiences are summarized and their relevance to future work is outlined.