Tools for distributed application management

The issues of managing distributed applications are discussed, and a set of tools, the meta system, that solves some longstanding problems is presented. The Meta model of a distributed application is described. To make the discussion concrete, it is shown how NuMon, a seismological analysis system for monitoring compliance with nuclear test-ban treaties is managed within the Meta framework. The three steps entailed in using Meta are described. First the programmer instruments the application and its environment with sensors and actuators. The programmer then describes the application structure using the object-oriented data modeling facilities of the authors' high-level control language, Lomita. Finally, the programmer writes a control program referencing the data model. Meta's performance and real-time behavior are examined