Server- and Client-Processes on one machine

[Pit Capitain]

Hi, we want to set up the following system:

			input data
			     |
			     V
			server process
		       /     |      \
		      V      V       V
		  client  client  client
		  proc 1  proc 2  proc 3

We have one source of input data, that has to be split according
to some selection criteria and copied to several clients.

The user starts a command at the shell level (one client process)
and specifies some selection criteria, i.e. "my_cmd crit1 crit2.."
The client has to notify the server of the criteria. It thereafter
simply copies all data received from the server to its standard
output.

The server checks all incoming data against the selection criteria
registered and copies the data to all clients with the appropriate
criteria.

Now the question: what is a portable, simple, elegant or whatever :)
way to implement this architecture on a SVR3 system? How do server
and client communicate? How does the server know which clients are
still alive? What limits are there on the number of clients?

Thanks in advance,	Pit.

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