A Framework for Designing and Evaluating Distributed Real-Time Applications

Distributed Real-Time (DRT) systems are among the most complex software systems in the field of Computer Science. The contradictory nature of distributed computing and real-time requirements forces prioritization that is dependent on domain-specific knowledge. This combination of distributed and real-time system requirements generates a new set of properties, and requires a new conceptual framework. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework for developing DRT systems. We divide our framework in 3 phases: example applications, design properties, and evaluation. We demonstrate our framework properties with our own Distributed Virtual Environment architecture and other 2 examples: Google's Cluster Architecture and collision avoidance systems. Finally we discuss evaluation of DRT systems through the lens of our own architecture, and conclude with general lessons to apply to other DRT systems. Our conceptual framework enables developers of DRT systems to foresee and address issues early in the design. Additionally, we expose general lessons and good practices of evaluation for other DRT systems.