Tuning distributed control algorithms for optimal functioning

In this paper, we present a model which characterizes distributed computing algorithms. The goals of this model are to offer an abstract representation of asynchronous and heterogeneous distributed systems, to present a mechanism for specifying externally observable behaviours of distributed processes and to provide rules for combining these processes into networks with desired properties (good functioning, fairness...). Once these good properties are found, the determination of the optimal rules are studied.Subsequently, the model is applied to three classical distributed computing problems: namely the dining philosophers problem, the mutual exclusion problem and the deadlock problem, (generalizing results of our previous publications 1], 2]). The property of fairness has a special position that we discuss.