Multics and Plan 9: The Big Bangs in the Distributed Computing System Universe

In this article, the authors investigate the development of Multiplexed Information and Computing Service (Multics) and Plan 9, and illustrate how these approaches have influenced today\´s computing systems. "Computing service as an electricity service"\´ is the core mission of the distributed computing systems introduced by the Multics project in 1965. In developing the new generation of distributed computing systems, researchers have faced numerous obstacles, though many have already been addressed and dispelled by pioneer systems. Security, scalability, access transparency, resource-sharing, and dynamic reconfiguration are examples originally introduced and considered by both Multics and Plan 9. Moreover, many novel approaches have employed the basic ideas of these systems. However, there are further innovations that could be helpful in designing prospective distributed computing systems. As a result, studying previous systems\´ objectives and current statuses can facilitate new solutions and help point to possible failures.