Distributed Systems - 2 Mark Simple Answers
1. Define distributed system
Answer: A distributed system is a collection of independent computers that appear to the users as a
single coherent system.
2. What are the main components of a computer system in a distributed environment?
Answer: Main components are: Hardware, Software, Network, and Middleware.
3. Differentiate between message-passing and shared memory systems
Answer: Message-passing systems communicate via sending messages. Shared memory systems
share a common memory space.
4. What is meant by synchronous and asynchronous execution?
Answer: Synchronous execution waits for operations to complete. Asynchronous execution
continues without waiting.
5. What are primitives for distributed communication?
Answer: Primitives include Send, Receive, Connect, Disconnect.
6. Define process synchrony
Answer: Process synchrony ensures coordinated execution of processes in a distributed system.
7. What is the significance of the global state in a distributed system?
Answer: It provides a snapshot of all processes and communication channels at a given instant.
8. Define a distributed program.
Answer: A distributed program runs on multiple computers, coordinating to solve a problem.
9. What are models of communication networks in distributed systems?
Answer: Models include Client-Server, Peer-to-Peer, and Publish-Subscribe.
10. Why is motivation important in distributed computing?
Answer: Motivation drives efficient resource sharing, scalability, and fault tolerance.
11. What is the role of middleware in a distributed system?
Answer: Middleware simplifies communication, data management, and security between distributed
components.
12. List out the features of distributed systems.
Answer: Features: Transparency, Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Concurrency, Resource Sharing.
13. State the objectives of resource sharing model.
Answer: Objectives: Efficient sharing, Access control, Resource utilization, Fair allocation.
14. Define the term 'global state' in distributed systems.
Answer: Global state is a consistent snapshot of all process states and communication channels.
15. Define scalability in the context of distributed systems.
Answer: Scalability is the system's ability to handle growth by adding resources without performance
loss.
