A network architecture for reliable process group communication

Many applications in distributed systems consist of a set of processes over multiple network nodes. Traditionally, the communication to a set of processes or a process group has been implemented by sending unicast messages to each member of the group causing unnecessary network traffic. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of the Process Group Management Protocol (PGMP) which provides efficient and reliable process group communication using IP multicast. We also present problems faced with the design of IP multicast through our experience with PGMP and propose a network architecture that provides efficient and reliable process group communication best suited for distributed applications