Advanced Collaboration Techniques between Java Objects Distributed on Clusters

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to propose possible solutions to some problems and requirements concerning the interaction between Java objects spread across clusters of machines. The problems we consider include requirements concerning location transparency and high-availability of Java distributed objects. Thus, an object should be able to access another remote object without knowing where that object resides. This location transparency induces also migration transparency. The enhanced properties of services offered by Java server objects are provided by duplicating the active Java objects, also transparently, for the clients. In order to achieve our aims for supporting reliable Java distributed applications, we developed a framework based on JNDI and LDAP, as the protocol to access the directory service where the references to the Java shared objects are stored.