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Simulating synchronized clocks and common knowledge in distributed systems

Published: 01 April 1993 Publication History

Abstract

Time and knowledge are studied in synchronous and asynchronous distributed systems. A large class of problems that can be solved using logical clocks as if they were perfectly synchronized clocks is formally characterized. For the same class of problems, a broadcast primitive that can be used as if it achieves common knowledge is also proposed. Thus, logical clocks and the broadcast primitive simplify the task of designing and verifying distributed algorithms: The designer can assume that processors have access to perfectly synchronized clocks and the ability to achieve common knowledge.

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Published In

cover image Journal of the ACM
Journal of the ACM  Volume 40, Issue 2
April 1993
207 pages
ISSN:0004-5411
EISSN:1557-735X
DOI:10.1145/151261
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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 April 1993
Published in JACM Volume 40, Issue 2

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Author Tags

  1. clock synchronization
  2. common knowledge
  3. knowledge-based protocols
  4. logical clocks
  5. synchronized clocks
  6. timestamped common knowledge

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