The scale and use of distributed systems have been considerably impacted by the success of the Internet and the development of mobile computing. The Cambridge Distributed System Group focuses on operating system support for distributed interaction in large-scale settings. This includes the management of shared data as well as support for reliability. Support for disconnected operations especially is one major concern of the group and is a common denominator to the on going projects.
Users typically update local replica of shared data independently from each others.
Such situations inevitably lead to create diverging replicas which need to be reconciled upon reconnection. We are designing a middleware platform to remove the burden of a complex reconciliation process away from the applications. IceCube extends sharing and updating of information to isolated or poorly connected users. Inevitably, replicas diverge and need to be reconciled. IceCube is a platform for sharing information widely.