Information Dispersal Algorithms and Their Applications in Cloud Computing

Information dispersal is a technique in which pieces of data are distributed among various nodes such that the data can be reconstituted from any threshold number of these pieces. Information dispersal algorithms employ a method in which a file F needs to be dispersed among n nodes such that any m pieces will be sufficient to reconstruct the whole file F. The size of each piece is |F/m|. We must also ensure that the complete knowledge of any m-1 pieces is insufficient to reconstruct the complete file F. The ideas for accomplishing this have been given in many literatures in the past. A discussion and comparison of some of these is covered in this chapter.

The Work at the Minor Planet Center

The Minor Planet Center at the Cincinnati Observatory is engaged in three kinds of activities: (1) the publication and distribution of the Minor Planet Circulars (MPC’s), (2) the collection and maintenance of a complete file of minor planet observations, and (3) the computation of orbital elements and ephemerides.

On-Line Serials System at Laval University Library

<p class="p1">Description of a system, operational since June 1968, that provides control of all s<span class="s1">e</span>rials holdings in nine campus libraries, permits updating of the complete file every two or three days, and produces various outputs for library users and library staff from data in variable fields on disks (listings, statistics, etc.). The program, presently operating on an IBM 360/50 and utilizing an IBM 2314 disk<span class="s2">-</span>storage facility and three IBM 226 CRT terminals, is written in IBM System/360 Operating System Assembler Language and in PL/I; it could encompass a file of no more than 10 million records of variable length limited to 127/255 characters and subdivided in 25 or fewer fields<span class="s1">.</span></p>

Railroad Conventions before 1860

Interest in the internal improvement of the country, sectional enthusiasm, desire for personal profit — such were the motives characterizing the early railroad conventions which were a vital factor in the rapid development of our railroads a century ago. Detailed reports of these conventions are available in the almost complete file of the American Railroad Journal, possessed by the Baker Library.