Simulation of self-stabilizing algorithms in distributed systems

The property of self-stabilization in distributed systems was originally introduced by Dijkstra (1974). Depending on the connectivity and propagation delay in the system, each machine gets a partial view of the global state. The set of global states can be split up into two categories, legal and illegal. In a self-stabilizing system, regardless of the initial state of the system, legal or illegal, the system automatically converges to a legal state in a finite number of steps. Also, if an error occurs in the system causing the system to be put into an illegal state, the system again corrects itself and converges to a legal state in a finite amount of time. Many self-stabilizing algorithms have been developed, but the complexity of self-stabilizing algorithms is difficult to determine. This paper provides an experimental analysis of various self-stabilizing algorithms in order to help determine the efficiency of these algorithms and to compare algorithms which solve the same problem.<>