Practical uses of synchronized clocks in distributed systems (Q1261109)

Synchronized clocks can be used in distributed algorithms to improve performance by replacing communication with local computation. The paper describes the role of synchronized clocks in a variety of distributed algorithms. Discussion of clock rates and circumstances under which clock rates can be used instead of synchronization clocks is included as well. The paper concludes with a discussion of how to incorporate synchronized clocks and clock rates into new algorithms. The paper is not a survey of all the algorithms that use synchronization clocks. The focus is on giving main ideas and provide the reader with some practical hints.