Abstract: On a computer cluster, a distributed object, called a console, manages all interactions with users and manages error reporting. The console provides a simple synchronous call interface that does not use any network semantics. This allows all layers of the software to use the console. User interaction and error reporting is enhanced by an error stack, included in the console. The error stack can be maintained on a per client context basis. When an error occurs, each layer of software can add details to the error stack. The result is the relaying meaningful error messages to the user.