Distributed Computing – Social networks, online banking, and multiplayer gaming systems are just some of the everyday applications of distributed computing. Thanks to these infrastructures, networks of computers connected to each other collaborate to solve complex calculations based on the division of tasks.
The distribution and coordinated interaction between computers aim to optimize task management and find flexible solutions for companies and individual home users.
Distributed computing models
Sharing remote resources to perform tasks, rather than addressing them from a single work centre, enables greater security, efficiency, and reliability. These are the main characteristics of distributed computing models:
- Secure remote access to information.
- Efficient use of resources.
- Reliable communication networks.
- Open standards.
Although there are many variants, the three main distributed computing models are shown below.
Cloud computing or cloud computing
These infrastructures, services, and platforms are scalable and accessible by the user through the Internet.
There are three cloud computing models :
- Software as a Service (SaaS): The client accesses applications, such as their ERP or CRM, and infrastructures, such as servers and storage.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS): You can develop applications and customize parameters in this cloud-based environment.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Users can access technical infrastructures like servers or firewalls.
Grid computing or mesh computing
Grid computing allows the creation of a virtual supercomputer from a group of connected computers. This model is often used to develop complex processes, such as scientific projects or cryptographic codes.
Cluster computing or cluster computing
Clusters are collections of individual computers that combine their computing capabilities to perform high-performance tasks, such as automation or big data.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Distributed Computing
As you already know, all the advances in digitization are highly beneficial for companies. In the case of distributed computing, its main advantages are:
- Offshoring: It allows you to quickly connect between offshoring environments. It would be the case of a banking network where each office must maintain its clients’ accounts, but they also need to communicate to record operations.
- Speed – The need to speed up the most complex computations is met by breaking significant problems into small chunks. This approach allows users to progressively increase computing power based on their needs.
- Shared Resources – There are many benefits of sharing resources, from remote device access to having massive databases spread across multiple machines.
- Failsafe – A system built around a single node can crash if the processor fails. However, in distributed computing, processors check each other’s checkpoints.
Distributed computing, despite its significant advantages, has some drawbacks that must also be taken into account when working with it:
- Routing – Distributed infrastructures of resources are in different places, complicating routing at the network and application layers.
- Openness – Standard protocols that allow for interoperability require having well-defined interfaces.
- Synchronization – Synchronization of computations divided into thousands of components with current methods may be insufficient for complex systems, such as the semaphore network.
Even so, distributed computing is emerging as one of the systems with the most significant advantages and future projections. For this reason, technology companies such as SAP work with this resource to develop fast, secure, and efficient higher-level tools.
Where is distributed computing used?
Distributed computing has become an essential core technology for digitization in our lives and work. The Internet and its services would be unthinkable without the client-server architectures of distributed systems. Distributed computing is part of all Google searches. Vendor instances around the world work closely together to generate correct search results. Google Maps and Google Earth also rely on distributed computing for their services.
Distributed computing architectures and procedures are also found in mail and videoconferencing systems, airline and hotel chain reservation systems, libraries, and navigation systems. Automation processes and preparation, production, and design systems in the workplace are common application areas for this technology. Social networking, mobile plans, online banking, and online gaming (multiplayer systems) use efficient distributed systems.
Distributed computing is also used in online learning platforms, artificial intelligence, and electronic commerce. The buying and ordering processes of online stores are often based on distributed systems. In meteorology, sensors and monitoring systems rely on the computing capabilities of distributed systems to predict catastrophes. Today, many applications are based on distributed databases.
What types of distributed computing exist?
-
Software as a Service (SaaS) –
With SaaS service, the customer uses a cloud provider’s applications and associated infrastructure (servers, online storage, or computing power). You can also access the applications with different devices through a thin client interface (for example, a browser-based web application). The cloud provider is accountable for maintaining and managing the outsourced infrastructure.
-
Platform as a Service (PaaS):
The PaaS service offers a cloud-based environment to develop web applications. The user has control over the provided applications and can customize some parameters, while the cloud provider takes care of the technical infrastructure of distributed computing.
-
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) –
With the IaaS service, the cloud provider provides a technical infrastructure that users access through private or public networks. Components of this infrastructure include, for example, servers, computing and network capabilities, communication devices such as routers, switches or firewalls, storage space, and data protection and archiving systems. For its part, the customer controls the operating systems and applications offered to it.