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Synchronization in Distributed Systems - Unit 2

This document discusses synchronization in distributed systems. It explains that distributed systems are collections of computers connected via networks that communicate through message passing. Synchronization is needed to coordinate processes and resources across nodes. There are two main ways to achieve clock synchronization: external clock synchronization uses a reference clock, while internal clock synchronization has nodes share and adjust their times. There are also two types of clock synchronization algorithms - centralized uses a single time server, while distributed has nodes adjust times without a central server to avoid single points of failure. Mutual exclusion is discussed as an important property of process synchronization, where only one process can be in the critical section at a time to avoid race conditions.

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devansh garg
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211 views

Synchronization in Distributed Systems - Unit 2

This document discusses synchronization in distributed systems. It explains that distributed systems are collections of computers connected via networks that communicate through message passing. Synchronization is needed to coordinate processes and resources across nodes. There are two main ways to achieve clock synchronization: external clock synchronization uses a reference clock, while internal clock synchronization has nodes share and adjust their times. There are also two types of clock synchronization algorithms - centralized uses a single time server, while distributed has nodes adjust times without a central server to avoid single points of failure. Mutual exclusion is discussed as an important property of process synchronization, where only one process can be in the critical section at a time to avoid race conditions.

Uploaded by

devansh garg
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Synchronization in Distributed

Systems
Distributed System is a collection of computers connected via the high speed
communication network. In the distributed system, the hardware and
software components communicate and coordinate their actions by message
passing. Each node in distributed systems can share their resources with
other nodes. So, there is need of proper allocation of resources to preserve
the state of resources and help coordinate between the several processes.
To resolve such conflicts, synchronization is used. Synchronization in
distributed systems is achieved via clocks.
The physical clocks are used to adjust the time of nodes.Each node in the
system can share its local time with other nodes in the system. The time is
set based on UTC (Universal Time Coordination). UTC is used as a
reference time clock for the nodes in the system.
The clock synchronization can be achieved by 2 ways: External and Internal
Clock Synchronization.
1. External clock synchronization is the one in which an external
reference clock is present. It is used as a reference and the nodes in the
system can set and adjust their time accordingly.
2. Internal clock synchronization is the one in which each node shares its
time with other nodes and all the nodes set and adjust their times
accordingly.
There are 2 types of clock synchronization algorithms: Centralized and
Distributed.
1. Centralized is the one in which a time server is used as a reference. The
single time server propagates its time to the nodes and all the nodes
adjust the time accordingly. It is dependent on single time server so if that
node fails, the whole system will lose synchronization. Examples of
centralized are- Berkeley Algorithm, Passive Time Server, Active Time
Server etc.
2. Distributed is the one in which there is no centralized time server
present. Instead the nodes adjust their time by using their local time and
then, taking the average of the differences of time with other nodes.
Distributed algorithms overcome the issue of centralized algorithms like
the scalability and single point failure. Examples of Distributed algorithms
are – Global Averaging Algorithm, Localized Averaging Algorithm, NTP
(Network time protocol) etc.
Mutual Exclusion in Synchronization
 During concurrent execution of processes, processes need to enter the critical
section (or the section of the program shared across processes) at times for execution.
It might so happen that because of the execution of multiple processes at once, the
values stored in the critical section become inconsistent. In other words, the values
depend on the sequence of execution of instructions – also known as a race condition.
The primary task of process synchronization is to get rid of race conditions while
executing the critical section. 
This is primarily achieved through mutual exclusion. 
Mutual exclusion is a property of process synchronization which states that “no two
processes can exist in the critical section at any given point of time”. The term was
first coined by Dijkstra. Any process synchronization technique being used must
satisfy the property of mutual exclusion, without which it would not be possible to get
rid of a race condition. 
To understand mutual exclusion, let’s take an example. 

Example: 
In the clothes section of a supermarket, two people are shopping for clothes. 
 

Boy A decides upon some clothes to buy and heads to the changing room to
try them out. Now, while boy A is inside the changing room, there is an
‘occupied’ sign on it – indicating that no one else can come in. Girl B has to
use the changing room too, so she has to wait till boy A is done using the
changing room. 
 
Once boy A comes out of the changing room, the sign on it changes from
‘occupied’ to ‘vacant’ – indicating that another person can use it. Hence, girl
B proceeds to use the changing room, while the sign displays ‘occupied’
again. 
 

The changing room is nothing but the critical section, boy A and girl B are
two different processes, while the sign outside the changing room indicates
the process synchronization mechanism being used.
 

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