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The '''Network Computing System''' ('''NCS''') was an implementation of the Network Computing Architecture (NCA). It was created at [[Apollo Computer]] in the 1980s. It comprised a set of tools for implementing distributed software applications, or [[distributed computing]].{{sfn|Kong|1987|p=1}} The three principal components of NCS were a runtime environment for remote procedure calls, a network interface definition language (NIDL) compiler, and a location broker service.<ref name="hpprofessional198910_cce">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/HP-Professional_Vol._03_No._10_Oct_1989/page/54/mode/1up | title=Cooperative Computing | magazine=HP Professional | last1=Carl | first1=Mike | date=October 1989 | access-date=15 April 2024 | pages=54,56–59 }}</ref> The location broker differentiated NCS from similar offerings, such as the rival [[Open Network Computing]] technology from [[Sun Microsystems]], by permitting services to be distributed in a dynamic fashion and offering the possibility of "location independence".<ref name="networkworld19891120_rpc">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/networkworld646unse/mode/1up | title=RPC tools pave way for cooperative processing | magazine=Network World | last1=Kobielus | first1=James | date=20 November 1989 | access-date=15 April 2024 | pages=1,40-41,44,46 }}</ref>{{rp|pages=46|quote=What chiefly distinguishes Apollo’s architecture from the Netwise/Sun RPC architectures is the broker concept — Apollo’s technique for coordinating and managing dispersed client and server procedures.}}

The design and implementation of [[DCE/RPC]], the [[remote procedure call]] mechanism in the [[Distributed Computing Environment]], is based on NCA/NCS.<ref name="connexions199303_dce">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ConneXions.07.03/page/18/mode/2up | title=The OSF Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) | magazine=ConneXions | last1=Chappell | first1=David | date=March 1993 | access-date=14 April 2024 | volume=7 | issue=3 | pages=18–27 }}</ref> In response to a request for proposals from the [[Open Software Foundation]] for distributed computing environments,<ref name="networkworld19890619_osf">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/networkworld624unse/page/81/mode/1up | title=OSF asks users, vendors for distributed computing specs | magazine=Network World | last1=Brown | first1=Jim | date=19 June 1989 | access-date=14 April 2024 | pages=69 }}</ref> NCS featured in the DEcorum proposal submitted by Apollo, by then incorporated as a division within [[Hewlett-Packard]], along with [[IBM]], [[Locus Computing]], [[Transarc]], [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] and [[Microsoft]].<ref name="hpprofessional199005_decorum">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/HP-Professional_Vol._04_No._05_May_1990/page/66/mode/1up | title=A modicum of DEcorum | magazine=HP Professional | last1=Sharp | first1=Bill | date=May 1990 | access-date=14 April 2024 | pages=66,68–69 }}</ref> It also was the first implementation of [[universally unique identifier]]s,{{ citation needed | date=April 2024 }} these being employed by the location broker to identify objects in the distributed system.<ref name="usenix">{{ cite journal | url=https://archive.org/details/1987-proceedings-4th-comp-graphics-cambridge/page/24/mode/2up | title=Distributed Computation for Computer Animation | journal=Proceedings of the Fourth Computer Graphics Workshop | publisher=USENIX Association | last1=Peterson | first1=John W. | date=October 1987 | access-date=15 April 2024 | pages=24–36 }}</ref>

==References==

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==Bibliography==

* {{cite book| last=Kong |first=Mike |display-authors=etal  |year=1987 |title=Network Computing System Reference Manual |collaboration=Apollo Computer Inc. |location=New Jersey |publisher=Prentice Hall |isbn=0-13-617085-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/networkcomputing0000unse |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Zahn |first=Lisa |display-authors=etal |year=1990 |title=Network Computing Architecture | collaboration=Apollo Computer Inc. |location=New Jersey |publisher=Prentice Hall |isbn=0-13-611674-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/networkcomputing0000zahn/ |url-access=registration}}
*Lyons, Tom (1991).  ''Network Computing System Tutorial.'' Hewlett-Packard Company, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. {{ISBN|0-13-617242-3}}
*P. Leach et al. (2005). ''[http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4122 RFC 4122 — A Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID) URN Namespace].'' Internet Engineering Task Force.
[[Category:Internet Protocol based network software]]
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