Distributed operating system

A distributed operating system is system software over a collection of independent software, networked, communicating, and physically separate computational nodes. They handle jobs which are serviced by multiple CPUs.[1] Each individual node holds a specific software subset of the global aggregate operating system. Each subset is a composite of two distinct service provisioners.[2] The first is a ubiquitous minimal kernel, or microkernel, that directly controls that node's hardware. Second is a higher-level collection of system management components that coordinate the node's individual and collaborative activities. These components abstract microkernel functions and support user applications.[3]

The microkernel and the management components collection work together. They support the system's goal of integrating multiple resources and processing functionality into an efficient and stable system.[4] This seamless integration of individual nodes into a global system is referred to as transparency, or single system image; describing the illusion provided to users of the global system's appearance as a single computational entity.

  1. ^ Tanenbaum, Andrew S (September 1993). "Distributed operating systems anno 1992. What have we learned so far?". Distributed Systems Engineering. 1 (1): 3–10. Bibcode:1993DSE.....1....3T. doi:10.1088/0967-1846/1/1/001.
  2. ^ Nutt, Gary J. (1992). Centralized and Distributed Operating Systems. Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-122326-4.
  3. ^ Gościński, Andrzej (1991). Distributed Operating Systems: The Logical Design. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-201-41704-3.
  4. ^ Fortier, Paul J. (1986). Design of Distributed Operating Systems: Concepts and Technology. Intertext Publications. ISBN 9780070216211.