Visualizing service interaction in an open distributed system

Service interaction in open distributed processing (ODP) environments is difficult to visualize. Interaction often takes place asynchronously and new participants can join the system at any time. If errors are apparent in an interaction, debugging usually takes place through each service involved in the exchange. When peer-to-peer systems involve more than a couple of parties, this technique is often inadequate. This paper describes a tool for visualizing service interaction in a DCE/sup 1/ environment. We combine an event logging service (ELVIN) and an animation tool (WALTER) to provide an, insight into service interaction. Important events are logged by each participant and then animated through a graphical display. These tools have proven useful in both the management and debugging of complex ODP systems.<>