Distributed Systems

A distributed system contains multiple nodes that are physically separate but linked together using the network. All the nodes in this system communicate with each other and handle processes in tandem. Each of these nodes contains a small part of the distributed operating system software.

A diagram to better explain the distributed system is:

Types of Distributed Systems

The nodes in the distributed systems can be arranged in the form of client/server systems or peer to peer systems. Details about these are as follows:

Client/Server Systems

In client server systems, the client requests a resource and the server provides that resource. A server may serve multiple clients at the same time while a client is in contact with only one server. Both the client and server usually communicate via a computer network and so they are a part of distributed systems.

Peer to Peer Systems

The peer to peer systems contains nodes that are equal participants in data sharing. All the tasks are equally divided between all the nodes. The nodes interact with each other as required as share resources. This is done with the help of a network.

Advantages of Distributed Systems

Some advantages of Distributed Systems are as follows:

Disadvantages of Distributed Systems

Some disadvantages of Distributed Systems are as follows: