Computer networks get data from Point A to (multi-)Point B with some statistical properties: delay, drop rate, error rate, etc. Distributed computing, then, is one or more layers above the network that answers the question:

Now that we have this (inter)network, how do we best use it?

In part this means this: how do we help programmers program it a lot easier (really with a lot less difficulty: it’s still hard)?

It involves cooperating processes running on a network and communicating only by messages (e.g., no shared memory), in the face of different kinds of failures.  Those processes can copperate by replicating data, synchronizing, agreeing on a value or decision, and other things. It also includes the use of middleware, which eases the programming of distributed systems and is used extensively by virtually every other industry but hardly at all in the power sector.

The instructor, Dr. David Bakken, has been both teaching distributed computing and working closely with power researchers since 1999.

More details about this class and Dr. Bakken can be found at his consulting web site. www.SmartGridComms.guru.

• Friday, November 21, 2025 at 8:00 AMLas Vegas Embassy Suites by Hilton Las Vegas