Distributed Systems Overview

A collection of independent computers that appear to users as a single, integrated system.

A system's ability to share resources and data across multiple computers, like printers, databases, or servers.

A distributed system is designed to be built on many computers, each having its own failure modes, linked by a network, and operating concurrently with independent clocks.

Separate, autonomous machines in a distributed system that don't share primary memory.

A distributed system should be designed to appear as a single, coherent system to its users, despite being built on multiple, independent computers.

The system can handle increasing demands by adding more resources, like servers.

The system can tolerate failures of individual components without significantly impacting overall functionality.

The system can smoothly adapt to changes in its environment or requirements.

The system can handle a large workload efficiently and quickly.

A system where all components are under the control of a single central component.

The possibility of multiple components failing independently, which can lead to unpredictable outcomes.

When parts of a distributed system may not be able to communicate due to network issues.

A software layer that facilitates communication and interaction between components in a distributed system.

The ability of a distributed system to hide the fact that its resources and processes are distributed across multiple machines.

Accessing resources without needing to know their physical location.

Enabling multiple processes to operate concurrently on shared resources without interfering with each other.

Using multiple copies of resources to improve reliability and performance without the user being aware of these copies.

Concealing failures of hardware or software components from users and applications.

A system's ability to handle failures gracefully, continuing to operate despite issues with components.

A technique for improving the performance of systems by hiding network delays through asynchronous communication.

A type of communication where a request is sent without expecting an immediate response. The application continues processing other tasks and is interrupted when a reply arrives.

A type of communication where a request is sent and the application waits for a response before proceeding.

A problem-solving approach for interactive applications where part of the processing is moved to the client to reduce network communication.

A scaling technique that involves splitting a component into smaller parts and distributing them across multiple systems.

A hierarchical system that manages domain names and maps them to network addresses.

A named area in the DNS hierarchy containing a group of hosts.

The process of identifying the network address associated with a given domain name.

A server responsible for a specific portion of a domain name. For example, a Z3 server handles the last part of a "full" domain name like "example.com".

Duplicating components across a distributed system to enhance availability and distribute workload, leading to better performance.

A special form of replication where data is stored temporarily to reduce communication latency. For example, a web browser can store a copy of a webpage locally to make future accesses faster.

The potential inconsistency that might arise when multiple copies of data are updated or changed independently in a distributed system.

A collection of similar workstations or PCs closely connected by a high-speed LAN, all running the same operating system, used for parallel programming.

A distributed system that uses a wide range of resources across different organizations, allowing for large-scale, complex computations. It allows for heterogeneity in hardware and software.

A type of distributed computing system used for high-performance computing tasks that involve parallel processing. Common examples include scientific simulations and data analysis.

A software system designed for executing tasks across multiple computers in a network, effectively utilizing the combined resources of these computers.

A system architecture that distributes data and processing across multiple independent computers connected by a network.

A technique used to combine multiple network requests into a single larger request, ensuring all actions within the request are completed or none are completed.

A software approach that allows different applications to communicate and exchange data directly, enabling seamless integration between systems.

Specialized instructions or functions designed for managing data transactions in a distributed system.

A set of properties (ACID) ensuring the integrity and reliability of data transactions in a distributed system.

A transaction is completed as a whole, either fully or not at all. There are no partial or inconsistent results.

A transaction ensures data consistency and does not violate any system rules or invariants. The system's state remains valid after the transaction.