Software tools for complex distributed systems: toward integrated tool environments

The demands on software tools for the design and testing of complex distributed systems are considerable. An environment that integrates domain-specific and commercial off-the-shelf tools and that supports rapid prototyping of application-specific tools can greatly increase the functionality and usability of such tools. We look at distributed computing systems as complex systems, focusing on two contemporary examples, and present an overview of online monitoring and dynamic analysis tools that support the design and test of such systems. To provide a specific example of integration and rapid prototyping, we describe an integrated tool environment that we have targeted at the types of complex systems addressed in this article