Distributed shared repository: a unified approach to distribution and persistency

The authors propose an information management system providing distribution and persistency. By separating context from virtual address space, the system has a unified approach for both distribution and persistency. The former is achieved by moving contents between sites and the latter by moving contents between virtual address space and persistent storage. Contents include any information including data, program, and even the state of execution of a program. Contents are stored persistently in a logical space termed the distributed shared repository (DSR). A programming model for the DSR is proposed. Using the model, persistency, fine-grain mobility of information, and the passing of various distributed parameters can be obtained. The implementation anti experimental performance of the system are also presented. >