It is a file distribution problem, copying a file to a large number of destinations through a slow link. At ITA, the file was the airlines' seat availability record, that really indicated which price points on each flight could be offered for sale right then.

I always tell them that undergraduates solve it quickly, but that never seems to help MSes.

There was a similar problem, back in the 80s, that made starting an Occam program on a network of transputers very, very slow, that was solved the same way.