TYPES OF DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING

Distributed Computing
Definition: A distributed system consists of hardware and software components located in a network of
computers that communicate and coordinate their actions only by-passing messages.

A distributed system is a system that prevents you from doing any work when a computer you have
never heard about, fails.

Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed
system is a system whose components are located on different networked computers, which
communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages to one another. The components
interact with one another in order to achieve a common goal. Three significant characteristics of
distributed systems are: concurrency of components, lack of a global clock, and independent failure of
components. Examples of distributed systems vary from SOA-based systems to massively multiplayer
online games to peer-to-peer applications.

Distributed
Computing

Cloud Grid Cluster

Computing Computing Computing

CLOUD COMPUTING
Cloud Computing is a modern computing paradigm that providing IT infrastructure and essential services
i.e. infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS) etc. Cloud
computing is an important model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on demand network access to a
shared pool of configurable computing resources like networks, servers, storage, applications, and
services that can be rapidly provisioned as well as released with minimal management effort.

Characteristics of Cloud Computing

The essential characteristics of cloud computing can be elaborated as follows [11]:
1. On-demand self-service
 2. Broad network access
3. Resource pooling
4. Rapid elasticity
5. Measured service

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CLOUD COMPUTING:

Advantages Disadvantages

Shared Resources Internet Required

Automatic Software Dependency and
Integration vendor lock-in

Cost Efficient
Non-Interoperability
Easy Access to
Less Reliability
Information

Technical Issues
Quick Deployment

Almost Unlimited Storage Security in the Cloud

Backup and Recovery Prone to Attack

Better Hardware Increased

Management Vulnerability

Mobility Less Control

Versatile Compatibility No always many room

BENEFITS OF CLOUD COMPUTING

Cloud computing [3] increases scalability, efficiency, helps improve cash flow as well as offers many more
benefits such as:
1. Disaster recovery
2. Flexibility
3. Increased Scalability
4. Metered Service
5. Increased collaboration
6. Faster Deployment
 7. Resource Pooling
8. Automatic software updates
9. Inherited Resiliency
10. Highly Automated

DRAWBACKS OF CLOUD COMPUTING

1. Constant Internet Connection
2. High Speed Internet Required
3. Data Stored is not secure
4. Limited Features

GRID COMPUTING
In grid computing, individual users obtain computing resources like storage, applications, data, processors etc.
on demand with limited knowledge of where the resources are located. Grid computing captures the basics of
distributed computing that involves coordinating as well as sharing computing, data, application and storage or
network resources across dynamic and geographically dispersed organization. The management features of grid
software enable the linking of computer resources together in a way that lets an individual use a single machine
to leverage as well as access the collected power of all the machines within the grid computing system. The
purpose of grid computing was to allow access to computer-based resources like from CPU cycles to data servers
in the same manner as real-world utilities.

GRID CHARACTERISTICS
Grid computing is applying the resources of many computers in a network to a single problem at the same time
- usually to solve a scientific as well as technical problem that requires a great number of computer processing
cycles. The essential characteristics of grid can be elaborated as follows:
1. Resource sharing
2. Geographical distribution
3. Heterogeneity
4. Large scale
5. Multiple administrations
6. Resource coordination
7. Transparent access
8. Dependable access
9. Consistent access
10. Pervasive access
11. Decentralization (Loosely coupled)
12. Dynamism and Diversity
13. Distributed Job Management & scheduling

Advantages Disadvantages

Can solve larger, more complex problems in a Grid software and standards are still
shorter time evolving
 Reliability High Internet
Connection Required

Easier to collaborate with other organizations Non-interactive job submission

Resource Balancing Not Stable

Access to Additional Resources Different

Administrator
Domains

Make better use of existing hardware Learning curve to get started

Computers working together Technology support to utilize the grid

Unused computing capacity is effectively used Some applications cannot be parallelized

BENEFITS OF GRID COMPUTING

1. Enables applications to be easily scaled
2. Better utilization of underused resources
3. Enables the linking of cheaper computers together, instead of spending a lot of money on one machine
4. Technologies being used are open source, trust and transparency is encouraged
5. Increased reliability of computing
6. Allows the sharing of computer resources across networks
7. Parallelization of processing
8. Resource balancing

DRAWBACKS OF GRID COMPUTING

1. Proprietary approach should be eliminated
2. Reliability and Complexity
3. There is a single point of failure if one unit on the grid degrades

GRID USES
Grid [1,2,3] is a computing paradigm for providing computational resources for grand-challenge applications as
well as it is an infrastructure that bonds globally remote and diverse resources in order to provide computing
support for a wide range of applications. Grid [7] not defined in terms of applications (as usually found in the
literature) but rather of the computing support the grid provides such as:
1. Distributed supercomputing
2. High-throughput computing
3. On-demand computing
4. Data-intensive computing
 5. Collaborative computing
6. Multimedia computing

CLUSTER COMPUTING
Cluster computing [8, 18] is the growing field to link together inexpensive commodity computers as well as
helps to find an answer to many problems. Cluster programmers [13] require mainly the environment so that they
can easily allow them to take the advantage of the cluster’s performance capabilities. Locality and consideration
[21] of data distribution are primarily to the success of any cluster. Cluster [9] is the journal of applications and
networks that are parallel processing distributed computing. Cluster is easily defined as the technique of linking
between two or more computers into a local area network.

CLUSTER COMPUTING CHARACTERISTICS

The essential characteristics of cluster computing can be elaborated as follows [11]:
1. Tightly coupled systems
2. Single system image
3. Centralized Job management & scheduling system

Advantages Disadvantages

Reducing cost Programmability Issues

Manageability Problem in Finding Fault

Single System Image Difficult to handle by a

Layman

High Availability Difficult for developing software for

distributed system

Improves network technology Easily accessed and applied to secret data

COMPARISION

COMPARISON BETWEEN GRID COMPUTING AND CLUSTER COMPUTING

Grid Computing Cluster Computing

Heterogeneous Homogenous
 The computers that are part of a grid can run The cluster computers all have the same
different hardware as well as have different OS hardware and OS

Grid can make use of spare computing power on The machines in a cluster are dedicated to
a desktop computer work as a single unit as well as nothing else

Grid are inherently distributed The computers in the cluster are normally
by its nature over a LAN, contained in a single
MAN or WAN
location

Every node is autonomous (it has its own resource Whole system (all nodes) behave like a
manager as well as behaves like an single system view as well as resources are
managed by
independent entity)
centralized resource manager

I. COMPARISON BETWEEN CLOUD, CLUSTER AND GRID COMPUTING

Cloud Cluster Grid

On-demand self- Service Yes No No

Broad network access Yes Yes Yes

Resource pooling Yes Yes Yes

Rapid elasticity Yes No No

Measured service Yes No Yes

COMPARISON BETWEEN GRID COMPUTING AND CLUSTER COMPUTING

Grid Computing Cluster Computing
Heterogeneous Homogenous

The computers that are part of a grid can run different The cluster computers all have the same
hardware as well as have different OS hardware and OS

Grid can make use of spare computing power on a The machines in a cluster are dedicated to
desktop computer work as a single unit as well as nothing else

Grid are inherently distributed The computers in the cluster are normally
by its nature over a LAN, contained in a single
MAN or WAN
location

Every node is autonomous (it has its own resource Whole system (all nodes) behave like a single
manager as well as behaves like an system view as well as resources are managed
by
independent entity)
centralized resource manager

COMPARISON BETWEEN GRID COMPUTING AND CLOUD COMPUTING

Grid Computing Cloud Computing

Resources are pre-reserved Resources are on-demand

Not rapid elasticity Rapid elasticity

Distributed computing Client-server architecture

architecture

Used for specific purposes Used for business and

public needs

Grids evolve slower than cloud Clouds evolve faster than grid
Level of expertise to use a grid is higher than cloud Level of expertise to use a cloud is lower than grid

It is the base concept of cloud computing Cloud offers more services than grid computing

A grid is not necessarily a cloud or part of a cloud A cloud would usually use a grid

Grids tends to be more loosely coupled, In fact, almost all the services on the Internet can be
heterogeneous, and geographically dispersed obtained from cloud,
compared to conventional cluster computing e.g. web hosting, multiple
systems OS, DB support and much more.

Grid computing federates resources located within

different organizations Cloud computing is typically provided within a single
organization (Amazon), that simplifies many aspects,
particularly security, availability and heterogeneity

Failure management Strong support for failover and content replication.

(Self-healing) is limited VMs can be easily migrated from one node to other
(often failed tasks/applications are restarted)

Resource management is distributed Resource management is centralized/distributed