This document provides an introduction to big data, including definitions and key concepts. It discusses the volume, velocity, and variety of big data sources and challenges in storage and processing large amounts of data from many different sources. Examples of big data applications are given in several domains like healthcare, retail, and social media. Distributed systems and architectures like Hadoop and MapReduce are introduced as approaches to analyze huge volumes of data across multiple servers and storage areas. Challenges in distributed systems and how big data is driving new technologies are also summarized.
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