The key concepts related to distributed operating systems listed in
the image are detailed below. A distributed operating system (DOS)
manages a collection of independent computers and makes them
appear as a single, coherent system to the user.
Distributed Operating System Concepts
Goals
The primary goals of a DOS include:
Resource Sharing: Allowing users to access hardware and software
resources across the network.
Increased Fault Tolerance: The system can continue to operate even
if some nodes fail.
Scalability: The ability to easily add more processors to handle
increased load.
Transparency: Hiding the physical distribution of resources from the
users.
Distributed Computing Models
These models define how processes communicate and interact
across the network:
Message Passing: Processes communicate by sending and receiving
messages.
Remote Procedure Calls (RPC): A process on one machine can call a
procedure on another machine as if it were a local call.
Distributed Shared Memory (DSM): Provides an abstraction of a
shared memory space across physically separate machines.
Hardware Concepts
Hardware concepts involve the physical interconnection of multiple
processors.
Systems use interconnected multiple processors instead of a single,
high-speed processor.
Hardware elements can be spread across various locations, linked by
communication lines.
Software Concepts
Software concepts deal with the algorithms and mechanisms for
managing the distributed environment.
Synchronization: Mechanisms like clock synchronization and event
ordering are crucial.
Mutual Exclusion: Algorithms (token-based or non-token-based)
ensure that only one process can access a critical resource at a time.
Resource Management: Approaches to global scheduling, task
management, and load balancing are used.
Architecture of DOS
A DOS architecture is built to allow for efficient, scalable, and fault-
tolerant computing across multiple machines. It provides a virtual
machine abstraction to users while managing the underlying
distributed resources.
Design Issues
Key design issues address challenges in building an effective
DOS:
Transparency: Hiding implementation and physical distribution
details from users.
Flexibility: The ease with which the system can be modified or
extended.
Scalability: The system's capacity to handle a growing amount of
work or its ability to be enlarged to accommodate growth.
Reliability: The system's ability to perform its required functions
under stated conditions for a specified period of time.
Performance: Ensuring the system operates efficiently and with
minimal latency.
Fault Tolerance: The ability to recover from failures of individual
components without affecting the entire system.