Types of Distributed Computing System Models

1. Physical Model

A physical model represents the underlying hardware elements of a

distributed system. It encompasses the hardware composition of a
distributed system in terms of computers and other devices and their
interconnections. It is primarily used to design, manage, implement, and
determine the performance of a distributed system.

A physical model majorly consists of the following components:

Nodes

Nodes are the end devices that can process data, execute tasks, and
communicate with the other nodes. These end devices are generally the
computers at the user end or can be servers, workstations, etc.

 Nodes provision the distributed system with an interface in the

presentation layer that enables the user to interact with other back-end
devices, or nodes, that can be used for storage and database services,
processing, web browsing, etc.
 Each node has an Operating System, execution environment, and
different middleware requirements that facilitate communication and
other vital tasks.,

Links

Links are the communication channels between different nodes and

intermediate devices. These may be wired or wireless. Wired links or
physical media are implemented using copper wires, fiber optic cables,
etc. The choice of the medium depends on the environmental conditions
and the requirements. Generally, physical links are required for high-
performance and real-time computing. Different connection types that
can be implemented are as follows:

 Point-to-point links: Establish a connection and allow data

transfer between only two nodes.
 Broadcast links: It enables a single node to transmit data to
multiple nodes simultaneously.
 Multi-Access links: Multiple nodes share the same communication
channel to transfer data. Requires protocols to avoid interference while
transmission.

Middleware

These are the softwares installed and executed on the nodes. By running
middleware on each node, the distributed computing system achieves a
decentralised control and decision-making. It handles various tasks like
communication with other nodes, resource management, fault tolerance,
synchronisation of different nodes and security to prevent malicious and
unauthorised access.

Network Topology

This defines the arrangement of nodes and links in the distributed

computing system. The most common network topologies that are
implemented are bus, star, mesh, ring or hybrid. Choice of topology is
done by determining the exact use cases and the requirements.

Communication Protocols
Communication protocols are the set rules and procedures for
transmitting data from in the links. Examples of these protocols include
TCP, UDP, HTTPS, MQTT etc. These allow the nodes to communicate
and interpret the data.

2. Architectural Model

Architectural model in distributed computing system is the overall design

and structure of the system, and how its different components are
organised to interact with each other and provide the desired
functionalities. It is an overview of the system, on how will the
development, deployment and operations take place. Construction of a
good architectural model is required for efficient cost usage, and highly
improved scalability of the applications.

The key aspects of architectural model are:

Client-Server model

It is a centralised approach in which the clients initiate requests for

services and severs respond by providing those services. It mainly works
on the request-response model where the client sends a request to the
server and the server processes it, and responds to the client accordingly.

 It can be achieved by using TCP/IP, HTTP protocols on the

transport layer.
 This is mainly used in web services, cloud computing, database
management systems etc.
 Peer-to-peer model

It is a decentralised approach in which all the distributed computing

nodes, known as peers, are all the same in terms of computing capabilities
and can both request as well as provide services to other peers. It is a
highly scalable model because the peers can join and leave the system
dynamically, which makes it an ad-hoc form of network.

 The resources are distributed and the peers need to look out for the
required resources as and when required.
 The communication is directly done amongst the peers without any
intermediaries according to some set rules and procedures defined in
the P2P networks.
 The best example of this type of computing is BitTorrent.
 Layered model

It involves organising the system into multiple layers, where each layer
will provision a specific service. Each layer communicated with the
adjacent layers using certain well-defined protocols without affecting the
integrity of the system. A hierarchical structure is obtained where each
layer abstracts the underlying complexity of lower layers.
 Micro-services model

In this system, a complex application or task, is decomposed into multiple

independent tasks and these services running on different servers. Each
service performs only a single function and is focussed on a specific
business-capability. This makes the overall system more maintainable,
scalable and easier to understand. Services can be independently
developed, deployed and scaled without affecting the ongoing services.
3. Fundamental Model

The fundamental model in a distributed computing system is a broad

conceptual framework that helps in understanding the key aspects of the
distributed systems. These are concerned with more formal description of
properties that are generally common in all architectural models. It
represents the essential components that are required to understand a
distributed system’s behaviour. The fundamental models are as follows:

Interaction Model

Distributed computing systems are full of many processes interacting

with each other in highly complex ways. Interaction model provides a
framework to understand the mechanisms and patterns that are used for
communication and coordination among various processes. Different
components that are important in this model are –
 Message Passing – It deals with passing messages that may
contain, data, instructions, a service request, or process
synchronisation between different computing nodes. It may be
synchronous or asynchronous depending on the types of tasks and
processes.
 Publish/Subscribe Systems – Also known as pub/sub system. In
this the publishing process can publish a message over a topic and the
processes that are subscribed to that topic can take it up and execute
the process for themselves. It is more important in an event-driven
architecture.

Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

It is a communication paradigm that has an ability to invoke a new

process or a method on a remote process as if it were a local procedure
call. The client process makes a procedure call using RPC and then the
message is passed to the required server process using communication
protocols. These message passing protocols are abstracted and the result
once obtained from the server process, is sent back to the client process to
continue execution.
 Failure Model

This model addresses the faults and failures that occur in the distributed
computing system. It provides a framework to identify and rectify the
faults that occur or may occur in the system. Fault tolerance mechanisms
are implemented so as to handle failures by replication and error
detection and recovery methods. Different failures that may occur are:

 Crash failures – A process or node unexpectedly stops functioning.

 Omission failures – It involves a loss of message, resulting in
absence of required communication.
 Timing failures – The process deviates from its expected time
quantum and may lead to delays or unsynchronised response times.
 Byzantine failures – The process may send malicious or
unexpected messages that conflict with the set protocols.
 Security Model

Distributed computing systems may suffer malicious attacks,

unauthorised access and data breaches. Security model provides a
framework for understanding the security requirements, threats,
vulnerabilities, and mechanisms to safeguard the system and its resources.
Various aspects that are vital in the security model are:

 Authentication: It verifies the identity of the users accessing the

system. It ensures that only the authorised and trusted entities get
access. It involves –
o Password-based authentication: Users provide a unique
password to prove their identity.
o Public-key cryptography: Entities possess a private key
and a corresponding public key, allowing verification of their
authenticity.
 o Multi-factor authentication: Multiple factors, such as
passwords, biometrics, or security tokens, are used to validate
identity.
 Encryption:
o It is the process of transforming data into a format that is
unreadable without a decryption key. It protects sensitive
information from unauthorized access or disclosure.
 Data Integrity:
o Data integrity mechanisms protect against unauthorised
modifications or tampering of data. They ensure that data
remains unchanged during storage, transmission, or processing.
Data integrity mechanisms include:
o Hash functions – Generating a hash value or
checksum from data to verify its integrity.
o Digital signatures – Using cryptographic techniques
to sign data and verify its authenticity and integrity.