A control framework for distributed (parallel) processing environments is introduced. The control framework supplies a centralized control sub-system within a distributed environment to manage the resources available on a network of computers. Special attention is centered on the execution characteristics of the framework as reflected within the Linda paradigm. Linda is a conceptually simple coordination language that supports parallelism. Linda and the control framework are combined to create Linda-LAN, a distributed parallel programming environment that utilizes a local area network of computers to provide a low-cost parallel processing solution. This thesis presents the design of the Linda-LAN environment along with an analysis on the applicability of the control framework within other distributed environments. In addition, the control sub-system's execution characteristics of stability and scalability are substantiated.