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| − | == Goal ==
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| − | There are many different types of distributed computing systems and many challenges to overcome in successfully architecting one. The main goal of a distributed computing system is to connect users and resources in a [[transparency|transparent]], open, and [[scalable]] way. Ideally this arrangement is drastically more [[fault tolerant]] and more powerful than many combinations of [[stand-alone]] computer systems.
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| − | == Examples ==
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| − | An example of a distributed system is the [[World Wide Web]]. As you are reading a web page, you are actually using the distributed system that comprises the site. As you are browsing the web, your [[web browser]] running on your own computer communicates with different [[web server]]s that provide web pages. Possibly, your browser uses a [[proxy server]] to access the web contents stored on web servers faster and more securely. To find these servers, it also uses the distributed [[DNS|domain name]] system. Your web browser communicates with all of these servers over the [[Internet]], via a system of [[router]]s which are themselves part of a large distributed routing system.
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| − | == Openness ==
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| − | Openness is the property of distributed systems that measures the extent to which it offers a standardized [[interface]] that allows it to be extended and scaled. It is clear that a system that easily allows more computing entities to be plugged into it and more features to be easily added to it has an advantage over a perfectly closed and self-contained system.
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| − | == Implications for anarchism ==
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| − | The openness and fault tolerance of distributed systems allows the [[decentralization]] of computer systems, which, in line with anarchist theory prevents [[coercion]] by those with access to the hardware and software of a system.
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| − | Distributed systems can be built that achieve such ends as secure voting, the publishing of information that cannot be erased and the lack of any single point of failure.
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| − | For instance, any [[anarchist software system]] (like [[Anarchopedia]]) can be taken down by authorities simply by attacking its single weakest point - the server upon which it runs. Distributed systems can utilize the power of the [[Internet]], which was conceived to be operational in the event of a nuclear attack, to allow any software systems to remain operational in the event of the compromise of servers by the authorities.
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| − | == See also ==
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| − | *[http://www.bacchae.co.uk/docs/dist.html Primer on distributed systems]
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| − | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_systems Wikipedia on distributed systems] (parts of this page were sourced from this)
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| − | {{wikipedia|Distributed systems}}
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| − | [[Category:Politics]]
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| − | [[Category:Computing]]
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