SKR 4401 Distributed

Systems

Lecturer: Dr. Nor Asilah Wati Abdul Hamid

Room: 2.18
Telephone: 89466532
Email: [email protected]

1
 SKR 4401 Distributed Systems
Textbooks:
Distributed Systems, Principles and Paradigms,
by A. Tanenbaum and M. V. Steen, Prentice Hall,
2002.
ISDN: 0-13-088893-1
Reference Book:
Distributed Systems: Concepts and Design, by
Coulouris, Dollimore and Kindberg.Edition 3,
Addison-Wesley 2001
ISDN 0201-61918-0

2
 Course Outline
Introduction to Distributed Systems (DS)
Process & Inter-Process Communication in DS
Naming
Synchronization in DS
Consistency & Replication
Fault Tolerance
Security in DS
Distributed System Paradigms
New Developments in Distributed Systems

3
 Course Work and Assessment
Test 1: 20%
Test 2: 20%
Assignment: 20%
- An assignment involving the development of a
distributed application using various technologies
related to the course.
Final Examination : 40%
For a student to pass the course, at least 30% of
the maximum mark for the examination must be
obtained.
4
 1. Introduction to DS
The definition of distributed systems (DS) and
characteristics
Major goals in building DS
Hardware and software concepts in DS
Middleware in DS
Client-server model

5
 Learning Objectives
To understand the (informal) definition of distributed
systems and its implications;
To examine the major goals in building DS: connecting
users and resource, transparency, openness and
scalability;
To understand the basic architectures of the underlying
hardware in DS, focusing on multiprocessor and
multicomputer systems;
To examine the major features of distributed operating
system (DOS) and network operating system (NOS);
To study how middleware is developed on the top of the
NOS to build a DS;
To gain a good understanding of client-server model in
DS.
6
 What Is A Distributed System?
A distributed system is a collection of independent
computers that appears to its users as a single
coherent system.
- A. S. Tanenbaum et al.
2002

A distributed system is defined as one in which

hardware or software components located at
networked computers communicate and coordinate
their actions only by passing messages.
- G. Coulouris et al.
2001
7
Ex 1: Internet

8
Ex 2 Intranets

9
Ex 3:Mobile and Ubiquitous
Computing System

10
Example 4: Embedded System

11
Example 5: Distributed Mutlimedia
System

12
 Distributed System

1.1

A distributed system organized as middleware.

Note that the middleware layer extends over multiple machines.
13
 Some implications from the
definition of DS
Concurrency: In a DS, concurrent program
execution is the norm, sharing resources such as web
pages or files when necessary;
Independent failures: Each component of the
system can fail independently, leaving the others still
running, which may not immediately made known to
the other components.
No global clock: There is no single global notion of
the correct time. There are limits to the accuracy with
which the computers in a network can synchronize
their clocks.

14
 WHY Distributed System?
The sharing of resources is a main motivation for
constructing distributed systems.
The DS may provide distribution-transparency
platforms for easy programming for distributed
applications.
Some applications are inherently distributed (e.g.
banking and supermarket chain etc).
Other good features of DS include high
performance/cost, reliability, scalability, and
flexibility etc.

15
 Challenge 1: Heterogeneity

The main goal of a DS is to make it easy for users to

access remote resources, and share them with other
users in a controlled way.Connecting users and
resources also makes it easier to collaborate and
 Challenge 2: Openness

Openness is the characteristic that determines whether the

system can be extended in various ways.
Open DS: offers services according to standard rules that
describe the syntax and semantics of those services.
In DSs, services are generally specified through interfaces,
which are often described in an Interface Definition
Language (IDL).
Open DSs can be built from heterogeneous hardware and
software, possibly from different vendors. The conformance
of each component to the published standard must be
carefully tested and verified to ensure the system works
17
correctly.
 Challenge 3: Security

Security becomes a big issue as connectivity

and sharing increase.

18
 Challenge 4: Scalability

A system is described as scalable if it will remain

effective when there is a significant increase (or
decrease) in the number of resources and the number
19
 Scalability: Scaling Techniques
The scalability problems in DSs appear as performance
problems caused by limited capacity of server and
network. There are basically three techniques for scaling:
* hiding communication latencies: try to avoid waiting for
response to remote services as much as possible (using
asynchronous communication); or reduce the overall
communication, as the example shown in the next slide.
* distribution: taking a component, splitting it into smaller
parts, and subsequently spreading those parts across the
system. Example: Internet Domain Name System (DNS).
* replication: replicating components across a DS to
increase availability and balance the load between
components for better performance.

20
Scaling Techniques: reducing the
overall communication

1.4

The difference between letting:

a) a server or
b) a client check forms as they are being filled
21
Scaling Techniques: distribution

1.5

An example of dividing the DNS name space into zones.

22
Challenge 5: Handling of failures

23
Challenge 6: Concurrency

24
Challenge 7: Transparency

25
 Distribution Transparency
Transparency is defined as the concealment from the
user and the application programmer of the
separation of components in a DS.
Achieving distribution transparency makes everyone
into thinking that the collection of machines is simply
an old-fashioned time-sharing system, instead of a
collection of independent components.
The transparency is generally preferable for any DS.
It also should be considered together with other
issues such as performance.

26
 Transparency in a Distributed
System
Transparency Description
Hide differences in data representation and how a resource is
Access
accessed
Location Hide where a resource is located

Migration Hide that a resource may move to another location

Relocation Hide that a resource may be moved to another location while in use

Replication Hide that a resource is replicated

Concurrency Hide that a resource may be shared by several competitive users

Failure Hide the failure and recovery of a resource

Persistence Hide whether a (software) resource is in memory or on disk

Different forms of transparency in a distributed system.

27
 Hardware Concepts

1.6

Different basic organizations and memories in multiple-CPU computer

systems 28
 Hardware Concepts
There are several ways to organize hardware in multiple-
CPU systems, especially in teams of how they are
interconnected and how they communicate.
Base on memory organization:
Multiprocessor: using shared memory
communication: through shared
variables
Multicomputer: no shared memory, using private
memory
communication: message-passing
Based on the architecture of interconnection network:
Bus-based systems (multiprocessor or multicomputer)
Switch-based systems (multiprocessor or
multicomputer)

29
 Hardware Concepts:
Multicomputers
Homogeneous multicomputers (usually used in
parallel systems): a single interconnection network,
all processors are the same and generally have access
to the same amount of private memory.
Heterogeneous multicomputers (usually used in
distributed systems): a variety of different,
independent computers connected through different
networks.
Due to the large scale, inherent heterogeneity, and
lack of global system view in heterogeneous
multicomputer, sophisticated software is needed to
build applications, developing a distributed system
(DS). Thus DSs usually have a software layer
(middleware) to provide transparency.
30
Homogeneous Multicomputer
Systems

1-9

a) 2D-Mesh (Grid)
b) Hypercube

31
 Software Concepts: Distributed
OS
Distributed systems act as resource manager (like
traditional OS), and more importantly, attempt to hide the
heterogeneous nature to provide a virtual single system on
which applications can be easily executed.
Distributed operating systems (DOS): managing
multiprocessor and homogeneous multicomputers. DOS
aims to support high performance through multiple
processors.
In multiprocessor, DOS supports for multiple processors
having access to a shared memory and protects data
against simultaneous access the same shared memory
locations.
In multicomputer, DOS offers the message-passing
facilities to applications.
The main goal of DOS is to hide the intricacies of managing
the underlying hardware such that it can be shared by
multiple processes.
32
Software Concepts: Network OS
Network operating system (NOS): used for
heterogeneous multicomputer systems. In additional
to managing the underlying hardware and other
resources, it makes the local services available to
remote clients. NOS does not provide a single system
image (transparency) to the users.
Example: some (non-transparency) services NOS may
provide (in UNIX)
rlogin machine
rcp machine1:file2 machine2:file2
The lack of transparency in NOS has some drawbacks,
such as they are harder to use and manage, and
introducing some security problem.
33
 Network Operating System
General structure of a network operating system.

1-19

34
Software Concepts: An Overview
System Description Main Goal

Tightly-coupled operating system for multi-processors Hide and manage

DOS
and homogeneous multicomputers hardware resources
Loosely-coupled operating system for heterogeneous Offer local services to
NOS
multicomputers (LAN and WAN) remote clients
Additional layer atop of NOS implementing general- Provide distribution
Middleware
purpose services transparency

An overview between
DOS (Distributed Operating Systems)
NOS (Network Operating Systems)
Middleware

35
Software Concepts: Middleware
Middleware: a software layer between applications and
the NOS provides a higher level abstraction as well as
masking the heterogeneity of the underlying components.
Modern DSs are generally built in this way.
In such a DS, the local OS in each computer manages its
resources while the middleware offer a more-or-less
complete collection of services used by the applications.
Most middleware is based on some model (or paradigm)
for describing distribution and communication, such as
distributed file system, remote procedure call (RPC),
distributed object, distributed document etc.

36
 Positioning Middleware

1-22

General structure of a distributed system as middleware.

37
Middleware layers based on
RMI/RPC

Applications

RMI, RPC and events

Middleware
Request reply protocol layers

External data representation

Operating System

38
 Middleware: Services
Some services common to many middleware
systems:
* high-level communication facilities: to hide the
low-level message passing through computer
networks, and implement access transparency;
* naming services: allow entities to be shared and
looked up. Scalability could be a big issue;
* facilities for storage (persistence): It could be
offered through a distributed file system, and
integrated database into their system in more
advanced middleware;
* facilities for distributed transactions;
* facilities for security.
39
 Middleware and Openness

1.23

In an open middleware-based distributed system, the protocols

used by each middleware layer should be the same, as well as
the interfaces they offer to applications.
40
 Comparison between Systems
Distributed OS
Middleware-
Item Network OS
Multiproc. Multicomp. based OS

Degree of transparency Very High High Low High

Same OS on all nodes Yes Yes No No

Number of copies of OS 1 N N N

Shared
Basis for communication Messages Files Model specific
memory
Global,
Resource management Global, central Per node Per node
distributed

Scalability No Moderately Yes Varies

Openness Closed Closed Open Open

A comparison between multiprocessor operating systems,

multicomputer operating systems, network operating systems,
and middleware based distributed systems.
41
 The Client-Server Model
The shared resources can be accessed through the
resources service. Services may restrict resource
access to a well-defined set of operations.
Each resource must be managed by program that
provides a communication interface enabling the
resource to be accessed and updated reliably and
consistently.
Server is a running program (a process) in a DS that
accepts requests from programs (clients) running on
other computers to perform a service and responds
accordingly. The requests and replies are send in
messages.
Client-server is the major model in DS.
42
 Clients and Servers

1.25

General interaction between a client and a server.

43
A service provided by multiple
servers
Service

Server
Client

Server

Client
Server

44
 Multitiered Architectures
An example of a server acting as a client (vertical distribution).

1-30

45
 The Client-Server Model:
Application Layering
There is often no clear distinction between a client
and a server.
Many client-server applications are targeted toward
supporting user access to database, a distinction can
be drawn between the following three levels:
* user-interface level: contains all that is necessary
to directly interface with the user, such as display
management;
* process level: typically contains the applications;
* data level: contains the actual data being acted
on.

46
Application Layering (search engine
in Internet)

1-28

The general organization of an Internet search

engine into three different layers

47
 Client-Server Architecture
The distinction into three logical levels suggests a
number of possibilities for physically distributing a
client-server application across several machines.
One approach for organizing clients and servers is to
distribute the programs in the application layers
across different machines, as shown in the next slide.
In modern architectures, it often uses horizontal
distribution: a client or server may be physically slit
up into logically equivalent parts, but each part is
operating on its own share of the complete data set,
thus balancing the load.
For simple collaborative applications, there may be no
server. A peer process model can be used.
48
 Alternative client-server
organizations
Alternative client-server organizations (a) (e).

1-29

49
 Modern Architectures

1-31

An example of horizontal distribution of a Web service.

50
A distributed application based on peer
processes (not client-server model)

Applic ation Applic ation

Coordination Coordination
c ode c ode

Applic ation

Coordination
c ode

51
 Summary-I
DSs consist of autonomous computers working
together to give the appearance of single coherent
system.
A DS should easily connect users to resources; It
should hide the fact that resources are distributed
across network; It should be open and scalable.
A DOS manages the hardware of multiprocessors and
homogeneous multicomputers. It does a good job at
providing a single-system view, but does not really
support autonomous computers.
An NOS is good at connecting autonomous
computers, so that users can make use of each
nodes local services, but it does not offer a single-
system view.
52
 Summary-II
Modern DSs are generally built by adding an
additional software layer, called middleware, atop of
an NOS, to hide the heterogeneity and distributed
nature of the underlying collection of computers. In
such a DS, a specific model, such as distributed file
system or distribute object, can be adopted.
The internal organization of a DS is important. Client-
server model is a widely applied model in DS. A
further refinement in this model is often made by
distinguishing a user-interface level, a processing
level, and a data level.
In modern DS, it is desirable to have horizontal
distribution by which clients and servers are
physically distributed and across multiple computers
(example: WWW). 53