Distributed Operating System

Session # 4

Why are distributed computing systems gaining popularity?

Inherently distributed application Information sharing among distribute users Resource sharing Better price-performance ratio Shorter response times and higher throughput Higher reliability Extensibility and incremental growth Better flexibility in meeting users needs

Inherently distributed applications

Applications ate inherently distributed in nature . For example employee database of a nationwide organization, the data pertaining to a particular employee are generated at the employees branch office, and in addition to the global need to view the entire database Computerized banking system

Information sharing among distributed users

Information generated by one of the users can be easily and efficiently shared by the users working at other nodes of the system. Although the users are geographically separated from each other, they can work in cooperation, for example, by transferring the files of the project, logging onto each others remote computers to run programs This is known as computer-supported cooperative working or groupware.

Resource sharing
Sharing of software resources such as software libraries and database as will as hardware resources such as printers, hard disk and plotter

Better price-performance ratio

With the rapidly increasing power and reduction in the price of microprocessors, combined with the increasing speed of communication networks, distributed computing systems potentially have a much better price-performance ratio than a single large centralized system.

Shorter response times and higher throughput

The multiple processors of a distributed computing system can be utilized properly for providing shorter response times and higher throughput than a single-processor centralized system.

Higher Reliability
Reliability refers to the degree of tolerance against errors and component failures in a system. The multiplicity of storage devices and processors in a distributed computing system allows the maintenance of multiple copies of critical information within the system and the execution of important computations redundantly to protect them against catastrophic failures.

Extensibility and incremental growth

Possible to gradually extend the power and functionality of a distributed computing system by simply adding additional resources to the system as and when the need arises. Properly designed distributed computing systems that have the property of extensibility and incremental growth are called open distributed systems.

Better flexibility in meeting users needs

A distributed computing system may have a pool of different types of computers The most appropriate one can be selected for processing a users job depending on the mature of the job

Distributed operating system

Network operating system and distributed operating system System image Autonomy Fault tolerance capability