Distributed and concurrent systems can be considered a social group which collaborate to achieve collective goals. In order to collaborate a system of rules must be applied that affords good hygiene, fault tolerance, and effective communication to coordinate, share knowledge, and provide feedback in a trusted manner. These rules form a number of protocols which enable the group to act as a system that is greater than the sum of the individual components.

In this talk we will explore the history of protocols and their application when building distributed systems. Protocols provide the foundation on which the quality attributes are delivered. Qualities such as performance, resilience, and security.