Chapter 1 - Introduction

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1.1 Introduction and Definition
 before the mid-80s, computers were
 very expensive (hundred of thousands or even millions
of dollars)
 very slow (a few thousand instructions per second)
 not connected among themselves
 after the mid-80s: two major developments
 cheap and powerful microprocessor-based computers
appeared
 computer networks
 LANs at speeds ranging from 10 to 1000 Mbps
 WANs at speed ranging from 64 Kbps to gigabits/sec
 consequence
 feasibility of using a large network of computers to
work for the same application; this is in contrast to the
old centralized systems where there was a single
computer with its peripherals
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 Definition of a Distributed System
 a distributed system is:
a collection of independent computers that appears to its
users as a single coherent system - computer (Tanenbaum
& Van Steen)

 this definition has two aspects:

1. hardware: autonomous machines

2. software: a single system view for the users

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 Other Definitions
A distributed system is a system designed to support the
development of applications and services which can exploit a
physical architecture consisting of multiple, autonomous
processing elements that do not share primary memory but
cooperate by sending asynchronous messages over a
communication network (Blair & Stefani)

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 Why Distributed?
 Resource and Data Sharing

 printers, databases, multimedia servers, ...

 Availability, Reliability

 the loss of some instances can be hidden

 Scalability, Extensibility

 the system grows with demand (e.g., extra servers)

 Performance

 huge power (CPU, memory, ...) available

 Inherent distribution, communication

 organizational distribution, e-mail, video

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 Problems of Distribution
 Concurrency, Security
 clients must not disturb each other
 Privacy
 unwanted communication such as spam
 Partial failure
 we often do not know where the error is (e.g., RPC)
 Location, Migration, Replication
 clients must be able to find their servers
 Heterogeneity
 hardware, platforms, languages, management

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 Characteristics of Distributed Systems
 differences between the computers and the ways they

communicate are hidden from users

 users and applications can interact with a distributed system

in a consistent and uniform way regardless of location

 distributed systems should be easy to expand and scale

 a distributed system is normally continuously available, even

if there may be partial failures

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1.2 Organization and Goals of a Distributed System
 to support heterogeneous computers and networks and to
provide a single-system view, a distributed system is
often organized by means of a layer of software called
middleware that extends over multiple machines

a distributed system organized as middleware; note that the

middleware layer extends over multiple machines
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 Goals of a distributed system: a distributed system should
 easily connect users with resources (printers, computers,
storage facilities, data, files, Web pages, ...)
 reasons: economics, to collaborate and exchange
information
 be transparent: hide the fact that the resources and
processes are distributed across multiple computers
 be open
 be scalable

Transparency in a Distributed System



 a distributed system that is able to present itself to users

and applications as if it were only a single computer
system is said to be transparent

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 different forms of transparency in a distributed system
Transparency Description
Access Hide differences in data representation
(endianness, file naming, ...) and how a
resource
is accessed
Location Hide where a resource is physically located;
where
is http://www.prenhall.com/index.html?
(naming)
Migration Hide that a resource may move to another
location
Relocation Hide that a resource may be moved to
another location while in use; e.g., mobile users
using their wireless laptops
Replication Hide that a resource is replicated
Concurrency Hide that a resource may be shared by
several competitive users; a resource must be left
in a consistent
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 Openness in a Distributed System
 a distributed system should be open
 we need well-defined interfaces
 interoperability
 components of different origin can communicate
 portability
 components work on different platforms
 another goal of an open distributed system is that it should
be flexible and extensible; easy to configure the system out
of different components; easy to add new components,
replace existing ones
 an Open Distributed System is a system that offers services
according to standard rules that describe the syntax and
semantics of those services; e.g., protocols in networks
 standards - a necessity
 should allow competition in non-normative areas

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  in distributed systems, such services are often specified
through interfaces often described using an Interface
Definition Language (IDL)
 specify only syntax: the names of the functions, types
of parameters, return values, possible exceptions, ...

 Scalability in Distributed Systems

 a distributed system should be scalable
 size: adding more users and resources to the system
 geographically: users and resources may be far apart
 administratively: should be easy to manage even if it
spans many administrative organizations

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  scalability problems

Concept Example
Single server for all users-mostly for security
Centralized services
reasons
Centralized data A single on-line telephone book
Doing routing based on complete
Centralized algorithms
information
examples of scalability limitations

 Scaling Techniques
 how to solve scaling problems
 the problem is mainly performance, and arises as a result
of limitations in the capacity of servers and networks (for
geographical scalability)
 three possible solutions: hiding communication latencies,
distribution, and replication
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a. Hide Communication Latencies
 try to avoid waiting for responses to remote service
requests
 let the requester do other useful job
 i.e., construct requesting applications that use only
asynchronous communication instead of synchronous
communication; when a reply arrives the application is
interrupted
 good for batch processing and parallel applications but
not for interactive applications
 for interactive applications, move part of the job to the
client to reduce communication; e.g. filling a form and
checking the entries

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 (a) a server checking the correctness of field entries
(b) a client doing the job
 e.g., shipping code is now supported in Web applications using Java
Applets

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b. Distribution
 e.g., DNS - Domain Name System ([email protected])
 divide the name space into zones
 for details, see later in Chapter 4 - Naming

an example of dividing the DNS name space into zones

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c. Replication
 replicate components across a distributed system to
increase availability and for load balancing, leading to
better performance
 decided by the owner of a resource
 caching (a special form of replication) also reduces
communication latency; decided by the user
 but, caching and replication may lead to consistency
problems (see Chapter 6 - Consistency and Replication)

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1.3 Types of distributed Systems
 Three types: distributed computing systems, distributed
information systems, and pervasive/embedded systems
1. Distributed Computing Systems
 Used for high-performance computing tasks
 two types: cluster computing and grid computing
 Cluster Computing
 a collection of similar workstations or PCs
(homogeneous), closely connected by means of a high-
speed LAN
 each node runs the same operating system
 used for parallel programming in which a single
computer intensive program is run in parallel on multiple
machines

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an example of a cluster computing system
 a master node runs a middleware (containing
libraries for parallel programs) and controls other
compute nodes;
 it allocates tasks
 provides an interface to users
 etc.
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 Grid Computing

 Resource sharing and coordinated problem solving in dynamic,

multi-institutional virtual organizations
 high degree of heterogeneity: no assumptions are made
concerning hardware, operating systems, networks, administrative
domains, security policies, etc.
 Globus is a software sytem for Grid Computing; read about the
Globus Alliance at http://www.globus.org/

2.Distributed Information Systems

 problem: many networked applications with a problem of
interoperability
 at the lowest level: wrap a number of requests into a single larger
request and have it executed as a distributed transaction; all or none
of the requests would be executed
 how to let applications communicate directly with each other, i.e.,
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)

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 Transaction Processing Systems
 applications
 special primitives are required Transaction Processing Systems
 consider database to program transactions, supplied either by
the underlying distributed system or by the language runtime
system
 exact list of primitives depends on the type of application;
procedure calls, ordinary statements, etc. can also be included

 e.g., assume the following banking operation

 withdraw an amount x from account 1
 deposit the amount x to account 2
 what happens if there is a problem after the first activity is
carried out?

 group the two operations into one transaction; either both are
carried out or neither
 we need a way to roll back when a transaction is not completed
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properties of transactions, often referred to as ACID
1.Atomic: to the outside world, the transaction happens indivisibly; a
transaction either happens completely or not at all; intermediate
states are not seen by other processes
2.Consistent: the transaction does not violate system invariants; e.g.,
in an internal transfer in a bank, the amount of money in the bank
must be the same as it was before the transfer (the law of
conservation of money); this may be violated for a brief period of
time, but not seen to other processes
3.Isolated or Serializable: concurrent transactions do not interfere with
each other; if two or more transactions are running at the same time,
the final result must look as though all transactions run sequentially
in some order
4.Durable: once a transaction commits, the changes are permanent;
see later in Chapter 8 -Fault Tolerance

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3.Distributed Pervasive Systems
 the distributed systems discussed so far are characterized by their
stability; fixed nodes having high-quality connection to a network
 there are also mobile and embedded computing devices which are
small, battery-powered, mobile, and with a wireless connection

 three requirements for pervasive applications

 embrace contextual changes: a device is aware that its environment
may change all the time, e.g., changing its network access point
 encourage ad hoc composition: devices are used in different ways
by different users
 recognize sharing as the default: devices join a system to access or
provide information
 examples of pervasive systems
 Home Systems that integrate consumer electronics
 Electronic Health Care Systems to monitor the well-being of
individuals
 Sensor Networks
 read pages 26 - 30
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Thank you!
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