This document discusses distributed computing. It defines distributed computing as utilizing a network of computers to accomplish portions of an overall task to achieve results more quickly than a single computer. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a network. Distributed computing chops large, complex tasks into smaller jobs that are distributed across multiple computers to improve efficiency and performance. The goals of distributed computing are to maximize performance by connecting users and IT resources in a cost-effective, transparent, and reliable manner. Applications include telecommunications, networks, real-time process control, and parallel computation. Advantages include lower costs, higher performance, scalability, and reliability while disadvantages are multiple points of failure, security concerns, and difficulty developing distributed software.
