Term: Distributed Systems
Situation: Steph Jobs the CEO of Pear, Inc is holding an investor meeting for Series C funding.
Parenthetical Definition: A cluster of computers handling a task together which appear as a single computer to a user.
Sentence Definition: A network of computers which are all connected continuously interacting with each other and sharing resources in order to achieve a common goal.
Extended Definition: The term “Distributed Systems” relates closely to the Internet. Distributed Systems rely on sharing a common network in order to send signals and share resources with other distributed computers. The first use of distributed systems occurred in the 1970’s, when ethernet was invented. (Caruso, 2011) The use of widespread distributed systems allows us to store our content on the cloud.
The terms distributed systems and a network are often misunderstood. Furthermore, a network allows machines and computers to exchange data, while operating independently between one another. In contrast, distributed systems consist of computers but coordinate among each other to form a single system.
As the market for technology grows, more companies are now dependent on using distributed systems in order to scale their products. (Do, 2019) For example, we often see people starting to transition to RF/NFC payments like Apple Pay instead of using their credit card, so Apple must create their own cloud network to handle the traffic.
Sources
Do, Minh Nhat. “Corresponding Formal Specifications with Distributed Systems.” Nanyang University, 2019.
Caruso, Jeff. “Living Legends: Ethernet Inventor Bob Metcalfe.” Network World, Network World, 9 May 2011, www.networkworld.com/article/2202019/living-legends–ethernet-inventor-bob-metcalfe.html.
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