AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTION│APPROVED BY AICTE │AFFILIATED TO ANNA UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DATA SCIENCE

Academic Year 2026 – 2027(ODD)
Question Bank

Course Code / Name: CS 3551/DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING

Year / Sem. / Sec : III/V/AI/DS

UNIT – I – INTRODUCTION
PART – A

D.L
[Link] Questions CO BT
M (E/M/D)
1 Define a distributed system. 2 CO1 Remember E
State the main components of a computer system in a CO1 E
2 2 Understand
distributed environment?
Differentiate between message-passing and shared memory CO1 Understand E
3 2
systems.
4 Give examples of synchronous and asynchronous execution? 2 CO1 Understand E

5 Define the primitives for distributed communication? 2 CO1 Understand M

6 List any two design issues in distributed computing. 2 CO1 Remember M

What is the significance of the global state in a distributed CO1

7 2 Understand M
system?
8 Mention distributed program. 2 CO1 Remember M
Identify the models of communication networks in CO1
9 2 Understand D
distributed systems?
10 Why is motivation important in distributed computing? 2 CO1 Understand D
PART – B

Q.N D.L
Questions M CO* BT*
o (E/M/D)
Discuss the major design issues and challenges in distributed
1 13 CO1 Understand E
computing with suitable examples.
Compare and contrast message-passing systems and shared
2 13 CO1 Evaluate E
memory systems with realtime examples.
Explain the significance of synchronous and asynchronous
3 executions in distributed systems and their impact on 13 CO1 Understand M
performance.
Elucidate the different models of communication networks
4 13 CO1 Analyse M
and analyze their impact on distributed systems
5 Analyze how distributed computing can be used in a 13 CO1 Analyse D
nationwide online banking system with ATMs, mobile
 AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTION│APPROVED BY AICTE │AFFILIATED TO ANNA UNIVERSITY
banking, and branch networks.

UNIT – II – LOGICAL TIME AND GLOBAL STATE

PART – A

D.L
[Link] Questions CO BT*
M (E/M/D)
1 Define logical time in distributed systems. 2 CO2 Remember E
Identify the role of NTP (Network Time Protocol) in Understand
2 2 CO2 E
physical clock synchronization?
3 Differentiate between scalar time and vector time. 2 CO2 Understand E

4 State message ordering in distributed systems? 2 CO2 Understand E

5 List the different message ordering paradigms. 2 CO2 Remember M

6 Mention the causal order in message passing? 2 CO2 Understand M
7 Define total order in group communication. 2 CO2 Remember M
What is the purpose of snapshot recording in distributed
8 2 CO2 Understand M
systems?
Mention any two system models used for global state
9 2 CO2 Remember D
recording.
10 What is FIFO in snapshot algorithms? 2 CO2 Understand D

PART – B

Q.N D.L
Questions M CO* BT*
o (E/M/D)
Explain the concept of logical time and discuss various
1 logical clock synchronization mechanisms, including scalar 13 CO2 Understand E
time and vector time.
Give a real time scenario where FIFO message queue is used.
2 Write and Describe the snapshot algorithms for FIFO 13 CO2 Understand E
channels.
Narrate the concept of group communication and discuss
3 13 CO2 Understand M
causal order and total order in distributed systems.
Elaborate how asynchronous execution with synchronous
4 13 CO2 Understand M
communication works and discuss its challenges.
Students from different locations take online examinations
through distributed servers. Analyze how logical time and
5 13 CO2 Analyse D
global state mechanisms can be used to maintain fairness,
synchronize exam events, and recover from system failures.
AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTION│APPROVED BY AICTE │AFFILIATED TO ANNA UNIVERSITY
 AUTONOMOUS INSTITUTION│APPROVED BY AICTE │AFFILIATED TO ANNA UNIVERSITY

UNIT – III – DISTRIBUTED MUTEX AND DEADLOCK

PART – A

D.L
[Link] Questions CO BT*
M (E/M/D)
1 Define distributed mutual exclusion. 2 CO3 Remember E
State the main idea behind Lamport’s mutual exclusion
2 2 CO3 Understand E
algorithm?
Differentiate between token-based and nontoken-based Understand
3 2 CO3 E
mutual exclusion algorithms
Describe the significance of Ricart-Agrawala’s algorithm in Understand
4 2 CO3 E
distributed mutual exclusion?
What role does a token play in SuzukiKasami’s broadcast Understand
5 2 CO3 M
algorithm?
6 Define deadlock in the context of distributed systems. 2 CO3 Remember M
7 Identify the two models of deadlocks in distributed systems? 2 CO3 Understand M
List the major steps in the Chandy-Misra-Haas algorithm for
8 2 CO3 Remember M
deadlock detection
Write the difference between the AND model and the OR
9 2 CO3 Understand D
model of deadlocks?
Mention one advantage and one disadvantage of using token-
10 2 CO3 Remember D
based mutual exclusion algorithms.

PART – B

Q.N D.L
Questions M CO* BT*
o (E/M/D)
Explain the concept of distributed mutual exclusion and 13
1 CO3 Understand E
discuss its significance in distributed systems.
Describe Lamport’s mutual exclusion algorithm with a 13
2 CO3 Understand E
detailed step-by-step explanation and example.
Discuss Suzuki-Kasami’s broadcast algorithm and analyze its 13
3 CO3 Understand M
efficiency in distributed mutual exclusion..
Compare deadlock detection and deadlock prevention in 13
4 CO3 Evaluate M
distributed systems with realworld examples.
Multiple robotic machines in a smart factory share tools, 13
sensors, and processing units. Discuss how distributed mutual
5 CO3 Analyse D
exclusion coordinates resource access and how deadlocks can
affect production efficiency.
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UNIT – IV – CONSENSUS AND RECOVERY

PART – A

D.L
[Link] Questions M CO BT*
(E/M/D)
1 Describe the consensus problem in distributed computing. 2 CO4 Remember E
2 What is agreement in distributed systems? 2 CO4 Understand E
Give the difference between synchronous and asynchronous
3 2 CO4 Understand E
agreement?
Mention the role of failure-free agreement in distributed
4 2 CO4 Understand E
systems?
List the major challenges in achieving agreement in distributed
5 2 CO4 Understand M
systems?
6 Define check pointing in distributed systems. 2 CO4 Remember M
What is the difference between coordinated check pointing and
7 2 CO4 Understand M
asynchronous check pointing?
8 Write the key issues in failure recovery in distributed systems? 2 CO4 Understand M
List the benefits of checkpoint-based recovery in fault-tolerant
9 2 CO4 Remember D
systems.
State the role of rollback recovery in distributed fault
10 2 CO4 Understand D
tolerance?

PART – B

Q.N D.L
Questions M CO* BT*
o (E/M/D)
Discuss the synchronous and asynchronous agreement
1 13 CO4 Understand E
algorithms in a failure-free distributed system.
Explain the agreement problem in synchronous systems with
2 13 CO4 Understand M
failures. How does failure impact consensus?
Elaborate the issues in failure recovery and explain how
3 13 CO4 Understand M
rollback recovery is performed in distributed systems.
Compare coordinated and uncoordinated checkpointing.
4 13 CO4 Understand D
Which one is more efficient in a distributed system?
Multiple hospitals share patient records through a distributed
network. Explain how consensus ensures agreement on
5 13 CO4 Analyse D
updates to medical records and discuss recovery mechanisms
for handling failures without compromising data integrity.
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UNIT – V – CLOUD COMPUTING

PART – A

D.L
[Link] Questions M CO BT*
(E/M/D)
1 Define cloud computing. 2 CO5 Remember E
2 List any two characteristics of cloud computing. 2 CO5 Remember E
3 State the different cloud deployment models? 2 CO5 Understand E
4 Define IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS in cloud computing. 2 CO5 Remember E
5 Mention two driving factors for cloud adoption. 2 CO5 Remember M
6 Describe virtualization in cloud computing 2 CO5 Understand M
7 Identify the role of load balancing in cloud environments? 2 CO5 Understand M
Differentiate between scalability and elasticity in cloud
8 2 CO5 Understand M
computing.
9 What is replication in cloud storage? 2 CO5 Understand D
10 List any two cloud compute services. 2 CO5 Remember D

PART – B

Q.N D.L *
Questions M CO* BT*
o (E/M/D)
Explain in detail cloud computing, its definition, and major
1 13 CO4 Understand E
characteristics.
Explain the major driving factors and challenges of cloud
2 13 CO4 Understand E
computing.
Compare scalability and elasticity in cloud computing with
3 13 CO4 Evaluate M
suitable examples.
Discuss replication in cloud storage and its significance in
4 13 CO4 Understand M
fault tolerance and high availability.
An online shopping company hosts its website, payment
services, and customer databases on the cloud to handle
5 seasonal spikes in user traffic. Analyze the role of cloud 13 CO5 Understand D
computing in ensuring scalability, availability, and cost
efficiency.

Faculty HoD Principal