This paper presents the IAC (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canaries, Spain) proposal of a distributed control system intended for the active support of a 8 m mirror. The system incorporates a large number of compact `smart' force actuators, six force definers, and a mirror support computer (MSC) for interfacing with the telescope control system and for general housekeeping. We propose the use of a network for the interconnection of the actuators, definers and the MSC, which will minimize the physical complexity of the interface between the mirror support system and the MSC. The force actuator control electronics are described in detail, as is the system software architecture of the actuator and the MSC. As the network is a key point for the system, we also detail the evaluation of three candidates, before electing the CAN bus.