SE 435 - Foundations of Distributed Systems
Reading List and Useful Information

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Table of contents

Textbooks Supplements to the Textbooks Software and Help for Programming: Tools On-line Articles General Topics Java Java Streams TCP/IP, Sockets and HTTP General Topics: Distributed Computing Object Serialization RPC and XDR RMI Distributed Computing Frameworks and CORBA CORBA

XML SOAP Web Services Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) Cryptology and Security Content Distribution Systems Miscellaneous Distibuted Systems Examples Supplementary material: Reading Lists Humor

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Textbooks

Required:

Distributed Systems: Principles and Paradigms, Tanenbaum & van Steen, Prentice Hall, 2002. ISBN: 0-13-088893-1

Optional:

Computer networking a top-down approach featuring the internet, 3rd ed., Kurose & Ross, Addison-Wesley, 2005. ISBN: 0-321-22735-2

Supplements to the Textbooks

	Java Network Programming, 3rd edition, Elliotte Rusty Harold, O'Reily Associates, 2004. ISBN: 0-596-00721-3 Errata Examples - Complete code for examples in text Used in SE 550.
	Java RMI, William Grosso, O'Reilly & Associates, 2001. ISBN: 1-56592-452-5 Errata Examples - Complete code for examples in text Used in SE 550.
	Fundamental Networking in Java, Pitt, Esmond, Springer, 2006, ISBN 1-84628-030-3 I like this better than Harold.

Other useful books

	Jim Farley, Java Distributed Computing, January 1998, O'Reilly & Associates, ISBN:1-56592-206-9,  Chapter 3. - Distributing Objects
	Brett McLaughlin, Java &XML, Solutions to Real-World Problems , 2nd Edition, September 2001, O'Reily Associates, ISBN 0-596-00197-5, Java and XML: Chapter 12 - SOAP
	Jonathan Knudsen, Java Cryptography , O'Reily Associates, May 1998 ISBN:1-56592-402-9 Chapter 6: Authentication

Barry Cornelius: Developing Distributed Systems (PDF version)

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Software and Help for Java Programming

GNU Make

• GNU Make
• GNU Make Manual

Tools

• MinGW: Minimalist GNU For Windows gmake, compiler and assembler
• Apache Ant Java-based cross-platform build tool
• JUnit, JUnit Java-based testing [I don't use it but you might]

On-line Articles

General Topics

• Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
• Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia
• A Distributed Discussion with Elliotte Rusty Harold
• Hints for Computer System Design,  B. Lampson, ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles, Dec. 1983, pp 33-48,
  

Java

• Java^TM 2 Platform, Standard Edition, v 1.5.0 API Specification Full documentation (javadoc) on the classes used in the course.
• Sun's JDK documentation
  
• JDK J2SE 5 (JDK 1.5)
  
• Java in a Nutshell, Chapter 4.2, Strings and Characters
• Scanning Text With java.util.Scanner
• Reference: Core Java Technologies Tech Tips

Java Streams

• Java Streams Basics
• Java in a Nutshell, Chapter 4.10: Input and Output Streams

TCP/IP, Sockets and HTTP

• Technology Brief TCP
• Technology Brief HTTP
• Reading Data from the Internet - working with the streams over the Internet may be as simple as dealing with files on your local disk
• RFC 2616: Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1 The definitive specification.
• Network Performance Effects of HTTP/1.1, CSS1, and PNG detailed discussion of how HTTP 1.1 is better and why

General Topics: Distributed Computing

• Object-Oriented Development of Distributed Systems
• Object-Oriented System Development: HTML Edition
• Developing Distributed Systems with Java
• Barry Cornelius: Developing Distributed Systems (PDF version)
• Distributed Systems
• Java Distributed Computing: Chapter 3. Distr...

Object Serialization

• Sun's Discussion on Object Serialization
• Object Serialization
• Java Serialization
• Transporting Objects over Sockets
• Discover the secrets of the Java Serialization API
• Java Serialization - includes discussion on Versioning
• JavaTM Object Serialization Specification (J2SE 1.5.0)
  
• Sun's Tutorial on Reflection
• Java API: reflection package
• Using Java Reflection

RPC and XDR - Remote Procedure Calls and External Data Representation

• The following are about the best on XDR and RPC (the RFCs)
• XDR: External Data Representation Standard
• RPC: Remote Procedure Call Protocol Specification Version 2
• Here are some more commentaries
• Remote Procedure Call Programming Guide (mirrror)
  
• Programming with ONC RPC
• External Data Representation: Technical Notes
• Remote Procedure Call (RPC) 
• External Data Representation: Technical Notes
• How about using XML with RPC?
• XML-RPC Specification
  

RMI - Remote Method Invocation

• Sun Tutorial on RMI
• RMI and Java^TM Distributed Computing
• Using a Custom RMI Socket Factory
• Remote Object Activation
• An in-depth look at RMI callbacks
• J2SE 1.4.2
• Java^TM Remote Method Invocation (RMI)
• Getting Started Using RMI
• RMI Release Notes for J2SE^TM 1.4.2
• J2SE 1.5.0
• Java^TM Remote Method Invocation (RMI)
• Getting Started Using RMI
• Java^TM RMI Release Notes for J2SE^TM 5.0
• Understanding Network Class Loaders
• RMI Architecture and Functional Specification
• Dynamic Class Loading in RMI
  
• Dynamic code downloading using RMI
• Ensure proper version control for serialized objects
• The New RMI - The  introduction of three new important features with the release of Java 5.0. The new features include support for dynamic stub generation, RMI over SSL, and the ability to launch a Java RMI sever as an extended Internet service (xinetd) daemon in Unix systems.
  

Distributed Computing Frameworks and CORBA

• The ADAPTIVE Communication Environment (ACE)

CORBA

• The Rise and Fall of CORBA
• Sun's Java IDL documentation:
• J2SE 1.4 Breathes New Life into the CORBA Community,
  • Part 1: Get started developing enterprise CORBA applications with the latest version of J2SE (August 2002)
  • Part 2: Gain code portability with the Portable Object Adapter (September 2002)
  • Part 3: Create enterprise-level apps with the POA (October 2002)
• CORBA Programming with J2SE^tm 1.4
• CORBA

RMI-IIOP

• RMI / RMI-IIOP
• Java^TM RMI over IIOP
  
• Tutorial: Getting Started Using RMI-IIOP

XML

• xml.apache.org
• XML glossary  XML acronyms for Java developers
• XML messaging, Part 1
• XML messaging, Part 2
• XML messaging, Part 3
• Java and XML
• Java Tip 128: Create a quick-and-dirty XML pa...

SOAP

More widely used each day, developers are turning to the SOAP standard for XML messaging. SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) was originally proposed by Microsoft but has been subsequently adopted by IBM and many other companies, including, more recently, Sun Microsystems.

• Soap documentation especially section 5.4.1
• Frequently Asked Questions about the Extensible Markup Language
• Java & XML, 2nd Edition: Chapter 12: SOAP
• "Clean Up Your Wire Protocol with SOAP"
  • Part 1: An introduction to SOAP basics (March 2001)
  • Part 2: Use Apache SOAP to create SOAP-based applications (April 2001)
  • Part 3: Create SOAP services in Apache SOAP with JavaScript (June 2001)
  • Part 4: Dynamic proxies make Apache SOAP client development easy (July 2001)
• Read the whole "XML Messaging" series:
• Part 1: Write a simple XML message broker for custom XML messages
• Part 2: XML messaging the SOAP way
• Part 3: JAXM and ebXML set the new standard for XML messaging
• Java & XML, 2nd Edition: Chapter 12: SOAP
• Apache SOAP
• SoapRPC.com: WebserviceResources
• SoapRPC.com: Whitepapers
• SoapRPC.com: Software
• SoapRPC.com: Tutorials
• Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
• alphaWorks : SOAP for Java

Web Services

• Inside Risks: The Perils of Port 80
• RFC 3205 - On the use of HTTP as a Substrate
• RFC 3470 - Guidelines for the Use of Extensible Markup Language (XML) within IETF Protocols
  
• Communications of the ACM, October 2002, V 45, N 10
• “Web Services: Beyond Component-based Computing”, Michael Stal, p71-76
• “Enterprise Services”, Paul Fremantle, et. Al., p77-82
• Publish and find UDDI tModels with JAXR and WSDL
  
• Axis-orizing objects for SOAP

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

• Technology Brief LDAP
• An LDAP Roadmap & FAQ
  
• What is LDAP?
• Introduction to slapd and slurpd
• Beyond the White Pages
  
• Introduction to Directories and the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
• Understanding LDAP - Design and Implementation - IBM online book, 6.5 Mb PDF, ISBN 073849786X, IBM Form Number SG24-4986-01, Number of pages 768
  
• OpenLDAP
• LDAP Services: Links
• RFC 2307 - LDAP as a Network Information Service
  
• RFC 1798 - Connection-less LDAP
  
• RFC 1823 - LDAP Application Program Interface
  

Java Naming and Directory Interface^TM

• The JNDI Tutorial - Building Directory-Enabled Java Applications
• Java Naming and Directory Interface -- JNDI Documentation
  
• JNDI Lookup in Distributed Systems

Cryptology and Security

• Classic papers
• R. Morris and K. Thompson. Password security: A case history. Communications of the ACM, 22(11):594--597, November 1979. (Mirror)
• Reflections on Trusting Trust, 
Ken Thompson, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 27, No. 8, August 1984, pp. 761-763.  http://www.acm.org/classics/sep95/.
  
• "A Weakness in the 4.2BSD Unix TCP/IP Software," Robert T. Morris, Computing Science Technical Report 117, Bell Laboratories (1985). (Mirror)
  
• "Security Problems in the TCP/IP Protocol Suite," Steven M. Bellovin, Computer Communication Review, vol. 19, no. 2 (April 1989), pages 32-48. (Mirror)
• TCP/IP Security Holes: A Look Back, Steven M. Bellovin, (lecture), http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb/talks/ipext-acsac.pdf 
  
• Cryptology in Computing - Other information sources
• RFC1321 - The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm
• Cryptography and Security
• WPI EE-578/CS-578 Cryptography and Data Security
• Glossary 
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Rob Slade's General Security Bookshelf
• Java Cryptography -- Sample chapter authentication
• Ronald L. Rivest : Cryptography and Security
• CS 431 - Cryptology in Computing
• HomeSweet Home (bsy's home page) file fingerprinting
• The Cryptography Page
• Cryptography FAQ Index
• RSA Laboratories' Frequently Asked Questions About Today's Cryptography, Version 4.1 – RSA Laboratories’ Frequently Asked Questions about Today's Cryptography was first published in 1992 and has been one of the most popular sections of RSA’s Web site. The latest revision, version 4.1 from the year 2000, still remains a valuable introduction to the field. Its content, however, no longer represents the state of the art.
  
• Online Cryptography Guide: A Deciphering Look
• Cryptography - Lots of links
  
• Codes and Ciphers
• RSA
• Euler Function and Theorem
• Totient Function
• The Mathematical Guts of RSA Encryption
  
• The PKI page
• Handbook of Applied Cryptography
• Java^TMCryptography Extension (JCE)
• Survey of Authentication Protocol Literature
• Programming Satan's Computer
• Steganography Revealed
• Steghide - Steghide is a steganography program that is able to hide data in various kinds of image- and audio-files.

Contributed pages

• Web Communication: Cryptography and Network Security

Content Distribution Systems

• USENET
• A Survey of Peer-to-Peer Content Distribution Technologies (mirror) (~34 pages)
• The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution (mirror)
• Issues for Distributed Multimedia System (mirror)
• Peer-to-peer
• BitTorrent

Miscellaneous

• Java Message Service

Distributed Systems Examples

• Grid Computing & the Linda Programming Model
  

Supplementary material (compliments of  Manolis Marazakis, University of Crete):

1. Efficient Reading of Papers in Science and Technology, by M.J. Hanson.
2. "The Java Tutorial: A practical guide for programmers", by SUN Microsystems Inc.
3. Samuel J. Leffler, Robert S. Fabry, William N. Joy, Phil Lapsley, Steve Miller, Chris Torek
   An Advanced 4.4BSD Interprocess Communication Tutorial
4. Beej's Guide to Network Programming: Using Internet Sockets (Sockets tutorial for the C programming language)
5. The Java Tutorial: Custom Networking
6. Thinking in Java (2nd edition), by Bruce Eckel.
7. HTTP Tutorial, by Yannis Yannakopoulos.( .html .pdf)
8. A.D. Birrell and B.J. Nelson: Implementing Remote Procedure Calls, ACM Trans. Computer Systems, Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan. 1984, pp. 39-59.
9. Philip A. Bernstein: Middleware: a model for distributed system services, Communications of the ACM, Vol 39, No 2 (February 1996), pp 86-98.
10. Jim Waldo: Remote procedure calls and Java remote method invocation, IEEE Concurrency, (July-September 1998), pp 5-7.
11. The Network Time Protocol (NTP, Mills, 1995)
12. The process group approach to reliable distributed computing (Birman, 1993).
13. Limitations of CATOCS (Cheriton and Skeen, 1993).
14. Epidemic Algorithms for Update Propagation (Demers, et al - 1994)
15. Bayou (client-centric consistency) (Terry, et al - 1994)
16. Akamai (global content delivery network) (J. Diley et al - 2002)
17. CDN Status & Trends (Vakali & Pallis, 2003)
18. Architecture and Dependability of Large-Scale Internet Services (D. Oppenheimer and D. Patterson, 2002)
19. "Functionality, Availability, Agility, Manageability, Scalability: The New Priorities of Application Design" (J. Gray, 2001)
20. CODA (M. Satyanarayanan et al, 1990)
21. Paxos (B. Lampson, 2001)
22. DAFS (J. Carter et al, December 2000)
23. OceanStore (J. Kubiatowicz, February 2003)
24. Introduction to PKI (Netscape Communications, 2000)
25. Introduction to SSL (Netscape Communications, 2000)
26. Porcupine (Y. Saito et al, 2000)
27. DDS (S. Gribble, 2001)
28. SEDA (M. Welsh, 2001)
29. Inktomi (E. Brewer et al, 2001)
30. Inferring DoS Attacks (Moore et al, 2001)
31. Flash Crowds and DoS Attacks (J. Jung et al, 2002)
32. Taxonomy of DDoS Attacks and Defenses (J. Mirkovic et al, 2002)
33. Algorithmic Complexity Attacks (Crosby et al, 2003)
34. Parasitic Computing (Freeh et al, 2002)
35. Protection against DDoS (Cisco.com, 2002)
36. "How to 0wn the Internet in Your Spare Time" (Staniford et al, 2002)
37. Trends in DoS Attack Technology (CERT Coordination Center, 2001)
38. logi.crypto java package with various cryptographic algorithms and protocols
39. RFC-2196: Site Security Handbook
40. Common Criteria for Information Technology Security
41. Digest of the ACM Forum on Risks to the Public in Computers & Related Systems
42. Bruce Scheier's essays & weblog
43. Google cluster architecture
44. Google File System
45. IEEE Distributed Systems Online

Humor

• RFC 3092 - Etymology of "Foo"