How can you stay current with distributed systems research?

Distributed systems are a fascinating and rapidly evolving field of computer science that deals with the design, implementation, and management of systems that span multiple nodes, networks, or regions. If you are interested in learning more about the latest trends, challenges, and solutions in distributed systems research, you might wonder how you can stay current and informed. In this article, we will share some tips and resources that can help you keep up with the state of the art in distributed systems.

1 Follow leading researchers

One of the best ways to stay current with distributed systems research is to follow the leading researchers and experts in the field. You can find out who they are by looking at the publications, citations, awards, and affiliations of the authors of the most influential papers and books on distributed systems. You can also check out their personal websites, blogs, podcasts, or social media accounts, where they might share their insights, opinions, and projects. Some examples of prominent distributed systems researchers are Leslie Lamport, Barbara Liskov, Peter Bailis, and Martin Kleppmann.

Add your perspective

Nelu Mihai, Ph.D.

Entrepreneur, Executive, Investor, and Computer Scientist- Cloud Computing/Distributed Operating Systems/SDN/Security/Blockchain
Report contribution
The academic who contributed the most to the research of distributed operating systems is Andy Tanenbaum from Vrije University of Amsterdam. After 35 years Amoeba remains the most relevant distributed operating system in the history of computer science. A search will reveal that Andy has written about distributed operating systems more than any other computer scientist. It is an anachronism that in the era of cloud computing the world does not have any commercial distributed operating system.

Like

2 Subscribe to journals and newsletters

Another way to stay current with distributed systems research is to subscribe to reputable journals and newsletters that publish high-quality and peer-reviewed papers and articles on distributed systems. You can choose from a variety of topics, such as distributed algorithms, consensus protocols, fault tolerance, scalability, security, performance, or cloud computing. Some examples of journals and newsletters that focus on distributed systems are ACM Transactions on Computer Systems, IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, The Morning Paper, and Distributed Systems Weekly.

Add your perspective

3 Attend conferences and workshops

A third way to stay current with distributed systems research is to attend conferences and workshops that bring together researchers, practitioners, and enthusiasts from the distributed systems community. You can learn from the presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities that these events offer, and get a glimpse of the latest developments, innovations, and challenges in the field. Some examples of conferences and workshops that cover distributed systems are ACM Symposium on Operating Systems Principles, USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation, ACM Symposium on Cloud Computing, and Workshop on Hot Topics in Distributed Systems.

Add your perspective

4 Join online communities and forums

A fourth way to stay current with distributed systems research is to join online communities and forums that provide a platform for sharing, learning, and debating about distributed systems. You can interact with other distributed systems enthusiasts, ask questions, answer queries, give feedback, or share resources. You can also benefit from the diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds of the members of these communities and forums. Some examples of online communities and forums that are dedicated to distributed systems are r/distributed, r/operatingsystems, Stack Overflow, and Quora.

Add your perspective

5 Take online courses and tutorials

A fifth way to stay current with distributed systems research is to take online courses and tutorials that teach you the fundamentals, concepts, and techniques of distributed systems. You can refresh your knowledge, deepen your understanding, or learn new skills by following the curriculum, lectures, assignments, and projects of these courses and tutorials. You can also access the materials, resources, and references that these courses and tutorials provide. Some examples of online courses and tutorials that are relevant to distributed systems are MIT 6.824: Distributed Systems, Coursera: Cloud Computing Specialization, and edX: Introduction to Distributed Systems.

Add your perspective

6 Experiment with tools and frameworks

A sixth way to stay current with distributed systems research is to experiment with tools and frameworks that enable you to build, test, and deploy distributed systems. You can apply the theory, principles, and best practices of distributed systems to real-world scenarios, problems, and solutions by using these tools and frameworks. You can also compare, evaluate, and improve the performance, reliability, and usability of your distributed systems. Some examples of tools and frameworks that are widely used for distributed systems are Apache ZooKeeper, Kubernetes, Apache Kafka, and gRPC.

Add your perspective

Nelu Mihai, Ph.D.

Entrepreneur, Executive, Investor, and Computer Scientist- Cloud Computing/Distributed Operating Systems/SDN/Security/Blockchain
Report contribution
On top of learning how to use existing distributed systems tools, we need to go back to the roots of computer science: math. Creating cloud computing applications with data and logic inherently distributed, trying to figure out math models which can represent and abstract heterogenous cloud applications, understand what is the right balance between central and distributed state. Connectivity is the central of gravity of a distributed system. On a side note, we need to fight illiteracy in distributed systems such as the syntagma “stateless applications”. There is no such thing: every piece of software running on a von Neumann machine is stateful. Start an open source project to design a distributed operating systems to complement Linux.

Like

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Add your perspective

Nelu Mihai, Ph.D.

Entrepreneur, Executive, Investor, and Computer Scientist- Cloud Computing/Distributed Operating Systems/SDN/Security/Blockchain
Report contribution
We need an enterprise distributed operating system to be paired with hyperclouds. Linux is a 30 years old technology and was not designed for distributed computing. Cloud computing is not a hospitality business, but a programming paradigm for writing applications with data and logic inherently distributed. It is more profound than running applications on third party computing platforms.

Like

How can you stay current with distributed systems research?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Follow leading researchers

2 Subscribe to journals and newsletters

3 Attend conferences and workshops

4 Join online communities and forums

5 Take online courses and tutorials

6 Experiment with tools and frameworks

7 Here’s what else to consider

Operating Systems

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

More articles on Operating Systems

More relevant reading

How can you stay current with distributed systems research?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Follow leading researchers

2 Subscribe to journals and newsletters

3 Attend conferences and workshops

4 Join online communities and forums

5 Take online courses and tutorials

6 Experiment with tools and frameworks

7 Here’s what else to consider

Operating Systems

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

Explore Other Skills