Distributed Systems: Architectural and Interaction Models

What is a primary disadvantage of the Client-Server model in distributed systems?

Which architectural model involves each node acting both as a client and a server?

What aspect of distributed systems is most affected by latency, bandwidth, and jitter?

In synchronous communication systems, what is a key characteristic?

What is a complexity introduced by asynchronous communication in distributed systems?

What is a benefit of using a Layered Architecture in distributed systems?

Which model is best suited for enhancing scalability and resilience in a distributed system?

What is the primary focus of interaction models in distributed systems?

What characterizes omission failures in distributed systems?

What is a unique challenge posed by arbitrary (Byzantine) failures?

In which context are timing failures most significant?

What is the primary purpose of understanding failure models in distributed systems?

Which statement is true regarding crash failures?

Architectural Models

Distributed systems can be structured in various ways, each with its own characteristics and trade-offs.
Client-Server Model: Clients request services from centralized servers, simplifying management but potentially causing bottlenecks.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Model: Nodes (peers) act as both clients and servers, sharing resources directly, enhancing scalability and resilience but complicating resource discovery and management.
Layered Architecture: Components are organized into layers with specific responsibilities, promoting separation of concerns and simplifying maintenance.

Interaction Models

Processes in distributed systems communicate and coordinate through various interaction models.
Communication Performance: Crucial aspects include latency, bandwidth, and jitter, which impact system performance.
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Communication:
- Synchronous Systems: Have defined time bounds for message delivery and process execution, providing predictability but limiting flexibility.
- Asynchronous Systems: Do not impose time bounds, leading to greater flexibility but adding complexity in managing communication.
Event Ordering: Ensuring consistent event ordering is critical due to potentially out-of-order message delivery. Logical clocks or timestamps are used to establish order.

Failure Models

Understanding potential failures is key to designing fault-tolerant architectures.
Omission Failures: Processes fail to execute or messages are lost during transmission.
- Fail-stop Failures: Other processes can readily detect the failure.
- Crash Failures: Detection might not be possible.
Arbitrary (Byzantine) Failures: Unpredictable behavior with potentially incorrect or missing messages, the most challenging to manage due to its unpredictable nature.
Timing Failures: Processes or messages exceed expected time limits, significant in synchronous systems with time constraints but less relevant in asynchronous settings.

Explore the various architectural models and interaction methods used in distributed systems. This quiz covers client-server, peer-to-peer, and layered architectures, as well as communication performance and models like synchronous and asynchronous communication. Test your understanding of how these concepts influence the performance and scalability of distributed systems.