Advanced Intelligent Terminals as a User's Network Interface,
Abstract
Computer networks are creating a serious problem: increasing numbers of users can access a variety of different information systems. Unlike a set of application programs residing in a single computer, these different information systems have very little in common. They were built for different communities of users, by differing groups of programmers, to run on different hardware configurations, and with very different protocols for man/machine interaction. In addition, the network itself may not be transparent to the user; it may require login procedures and access protocols. Networks also can cascade the number of serial components being used to accomplish a task; using the ARPANET as an example, one might interact with a remote system via a local host computer, the Interface Message Processor (IMP) which connects it to the network, possibly several intervening IMPs, the remote host computer's IMP, and the remote system's host computer. A failure in one of these components creates the need for rather complex strategies for gracefully 'backing out' of the other systems, preferably leaving some intermediate results intact so that a later 'restart' procedure can be initiated.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA021705
Entities
People
- Robert H. Anderson
Organizations
- RAND Corporation