Time Hybrid Total Order Broadcast : Exploiting the Inherent Synchrony of Asynchronous Broadcast-based Distributed Systems

Informally, total order broadcast protocols allow processes to send messages with the guarantee that all processes eventually deliver the messages in the same order. In this paper, we investigate the efficiency and performance of a very simple synchronous total order broadcast protocol, that is built atop a broadcast-based asynchronous distributed system. The performance results allow us to conclude that our Time Hybrid Total Order Broadcast (THyTOB) represents an interesting trade-off between performance and simplicity for total order broadcasts; its simplicity also allows its use as a benchmark for total order broadcast atop Ethernet. Finally, the experimental results that support THyTOB make a strong case for the reconsideration of the common wisdom that total order broadcasts must be always designed for the asynchronous model because it is the best way to guarantee safety and performance.