Chaosnet

Chaosnet is a local network, that is, a system for communication among a group of computers located within one or two kilometers of each other. The name Chaosnet refers to the lack of any centralized control element in this network.

Chaosnet was originally developed in 1975 by the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the internal communications medium of the Lisp Machine system [CHINUAL, AIM444]. It has since come to be used to link a variety of machines around the Institute. Chaosnets also exist at several other universities and research laboratories.

The Lisp Machine system is a multi-processor in which each active user is assigned a "personal" computer consisting of a medium-scale processor, a suitable amount of memory, and a swapping disk. Files are stored in a central file-system accessed through Chaosnet. This shared file-system retains the traditional advantages of a time-sharing system, namely inter-user communication, shared programs, and centralized backup and maintenance. At the same time, by giving each active user his own processor, the Lisp Machine system is much more capable than a time-sharing system at executing Lisp programs several million words in size efficiently and with rapid interactive response. Because Chaosnet is taking the place of the file disk in a conventional system, it must be fast (both in response and in throughput), it must be reliable (this is the reason why there is no centralized control), and it must allow connection of several dozen machines. However, it does not need to operate over long distances. Chaosnet is used to access other shared resources in addition to the file system; these include printers, tape drives, and one-of-a-kind specialized processors and I/O devices.