An O(n1/3) algorithm for distributed mutual exclusion

In this paper, a distributed algorithm is proposed that realizes mutual exclusion among n nodes in a computer network. No common or global memory is shared by the nodes and there is no global controller. The nodes of the network communicate among themselves by exchanging messages only. The best-known algorithms so far, for the distributed mutual exclusion problem, require O(root n) messages per mutual exclusion invocation. The proposed algorithm is the first to cross this O(root n) barrier and the message complexity achieved by our algorithm is O(n(1/3)) per mutual exclusion. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.