Autonomous components Independent operation.

Mostly build using heterogeneous technology Diverse platforms and technologies.

Certain physical Characteristics of distributed system System components may be used exclusively
No transfer of mass/energy

Examples closed system Concurrent processes can execute Simultaneous task execution.

or engineering systems. Multiple points of control Decentralized decision-making.

Types
Increases complexity
Multiple point of failure in fault tolerance.

is a system whose components are located on different networked

computers, which communicate and coordinate their actions by Ability to add more hosts or
Biological systems Scalability
Exchanges energy/matter with Collection of elements or passing messages to one another and appears as a single resources as demand grows.
surroundings components organized for a coherent system to the end-user.
common purpose. Easily extended and modified
Examples open system Openness
What is a Distributed System to adapt to changes.
Requirements of distributed system
System Heterogeneity
Support for diverse hardware
and software platforms.
ecosystems.
Efficient sharing of hardware, software,
Resource Sharing
and data across the system.

Fault Tolerance System continues functioning

correctly even when faults occur.
Require central control. Non autonomous components

is one in which data is stored as well as Reality: Networks fail or

maintained at a single location only. Network is reliable experience delays frequently.
Uniform hardware/software. usually homogeneous technology
centralized system Latency is zero Reality: Network communication
Characteristics of centralized system
involves measurable delays.
false beliefs, incorrect
assumptions, or misconceptions
Centralized System vs Distributed Systems Bandwidth is infinite Reality: Limited by hardware
Multiple users share the same resources at all time Fallacies of Distributed Computing Systems and network capacity.

Reality: Vulnerable to attacks

Network is secure
without proper safeguards.

Topology doesn't change Reality: Nodes can join/leave, and

Simplifies management but creates Single point of control
Components spread across connections can break.
bottlenecks.
different locations
Reality: Often requires multiple
One administrator
distributed system administrators or management entities.
Increases vulnerability to downtime. Single point of failure
Transport cost is zero Reality: Costs associated with data
transfer and replication.

Network is homogeneous Reality: Often a mix of diverse

systems and technologies.

Internet Global network enabling communication and

access to resources.

Examples: AWS, GCP, Microsoft Azure.

Examples of Distributed Systems Cloud Computing (e.g., AWS, Azure) Services: Computing power, storage, databases distributed across regions.

Distributed Databases (e.g., Cassandra, DynamoDB) Examples: Apache Cassandra, Google Spanner, Amazon DynamoDB.
Features: High availability, fault tolerance, scalability.

Social Media Networks (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) Examples: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X).
Handles massive user interactions across global data centers.

Examples: Akamai, Cloudflare, Amazon CloudFront.

CDNs (e.g., Akamai, Cloudflare) Function: Efficient delivery of web content via cached data on regional servers.

Blockchain Networks (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum) Examples: Bitcoin, Ethereum.

Features: Distributed ledger system for secure, transparent transactions.