A New Token Based Protocol for Group Mutual Exclusion in Distributed Systems

Abstract

In this paper we present a new token based protocol for group mutual exclusion in distributed systems. The protocol uses one single token to allow multiple processes to enter the critical section for a common session. One of the significant characteristics of the protocol is - concurrency, throughput and waiting time can be regulated adjusting the time period for which a session is declared. The minimum and the maximum number of messages to enter the CS is 0 and (n + 2) respectively where n is the total number of processes in the system. Moreover, simulation results show that the protocol, on average case, considerably reduces the number of messages per entry to the CS and also requires much lower waiting times. The maximum concurrency the protocol supports is n. The protocol also ensures no starvation in the system. Furthermore, this algorithm works out for the extended group mutual exclusion problem as well