Distributed systems meant separate machines with their own processors and memory.
#Distributed processing operating system how to#
Parallel computing was focused on how to run software on multiple threads or processors that accessed the same data and memory. There used to be a distinction between parallel computing and distributed systems. Airlines use flight control systems, Uber and Lyft use dispatch systems, manufacturing plants use automation control systems, logistics and e-commerce companies use real-time tracking systems. Many industries use real-time systems that are distributed locally and globally. As telephone networks have evolved to VOIP (voice over IP), it continues to grow in complexity as a distributed network. Cellular networks are distributed networks with base stations physically distributed in areas called cells. Telephone networks have been around for over a century and it started as an early example of a peer to peer network. Telephone and cellular networks are also examples of distributed networks. As the internet changed from IPv4 to IPv6, distributed systems have evolved from “LAN” based to “Internet” based. Peer-to-peer networks evolved and e-mail and then the Internet as we know it continue to be the biggest, ever growing example of distributed systems. For the first time computers would be able to send messages to other systems with a local IP address. The earliest example of a distributed system happened in the 1970s when ethernet was invented and LAN (local area networks) were created.