Distributed operating systems: a study in applicability

Abstract

This study will attempt to show the path of research and development of a huge and currently implemented SCADA (Super­visory Control and Data Acquisition) system product. The designers and their managers have identified movement to, and implementation of, distributed operating principles to be the only way to ensure the survival and competitive edge of the currently successful product implemented by IST Energy. The field of Distributed Operating systems is not a new field,neither is it a small one. It is, however, a field under constant development where old theories which have not been proven in the field can now be implemented due to the hardware costs and constraints, like speed, becoming less and less a problem. Due to the fact that computers and computing systems of various kinds permeate our everyday lives visibly and invisibly. the sheer amount of current hardware in the field makes any attempts at total replacement useless. That is why Distributed Operating theories which adhere to strong principles of interaction, autonomousness, linearization and integration are more valuable than short-term ideas which might move a system up a proverbial one-way street of development. This study will:

· Explain the necessity and field of operation of this SCADA system currently in place, • Point out the short-comings of the current system, • the features necessary in the new system, • how distributed operating principles are necessary, and could be implemented.