Lower Bounds for Distributed Computing

To understand the power of distributed systems, it is necessary to understand their inherent limitations: what problems cannot be solved in particular systems, either at all or without sufficient resources (such as time or space). This book presents key techniques for proving such impossibility results and applies them to a variety of different problems in a variety of different system models. Insights gained from these results are highlighted, for example, aspects of a problem that make it difficult, features of an architecture that make it inadequate for solving certain problems efficiently, and comparisons between different system models.

Series edited by: Nancy A. Lynch