A distributed system consists of multiple computers and communicating software components connected by a computer network (local network or wide area network).
A distributed system is a software system built on a network. It is precisely because of the characteristics of software that distributed systems are highly cohesive and transparent.
Therefore, the difference between a network and a distributed system is more in the high-level software (especially the operating system) than in the hardware.
Distributed systems can be applied on different platforms such as PCs, workstations, local area networks and wide area networks.
Advantages of Distributed Computing
Reliability (fault tolerance):
An important advantage in distributed computing systems is reliability. A system crash on one server does not affect the rest of the servers.
Extensibility:
More machines can be added to the distributed computing system as needed.
Resource Sharing:
Shared data is essential for applications such as banking, reservation systems.
flexibility:
Since the system is very flexible, it is easy to install, implement and commission new services.
Faster speed:
A distributed computing system can have the computing power of multiple computers, making it faster than other systems.
Open system:
Since it is an open system, the service can be accessed locally or remotely.
Higher performance:
Compared to a centralized computer network cluster, it can provide higher performance (and better price/performance).
Disadvantages of distributed computing
Troubleshooting:
Troubleshoot and diagnose problems.
software:
Less software support is a major disadvantage of distributed computing systems.
The internet:
Problems with network infrastructure, including: transmission problems, high load, loss of information, etc.
safety:
The characteristics of open systems make distributed computing systems have problems such as data security and sharing risks.