Distributed computing is a way of solving computer problems, that is, running programs, which is based on the use of several computers kilometers away from each other but sharing the same data network. Which is not the same as cloud computing, that is why we are going to explain the differences.
Not all the problems that computing works with can be solved with a single very powerful processor, sometimes it is necessary to use a set of processors to solve the problem, but the cores in a single computer are not always enough and it is necessary create extremely complex infrastructures made up of several computers, which many times we cannot contain in the same place and that is where both cloud computing and distributed computing appear.
Cloud computing refers to the use of high-powered remote computers to run programs, but it is not the only way in which a computer can be used remotely, with distributed computing being one of these ways of using computer resources. remote computing, but its operation is in reverse.
What is distributed computing?
Distributed computing refers to a way of executing a program in which a group of processing units, which are geometrically dispersed but connected through the same network, each take part in its resolution. These processing units do not have to have the same power in common and there may be units with different characteristics.
Standard distributed computing makes use of a centralized unit, which is in charge of distributing the work to be carried out among the different available processing units to the rest of the network’s processing units, since they do not have access to the resource well. Instead, they act passively, waiting for the central unit, which does have access to these resources, to send them the instructions and data to be processed. Once a process unit has completed the assigned work, they return the result to the central unit that is the one that manages the resources and wait for new tasks to be assigned to them.
There may be two ways of managing the distribution of tasks, one of them is by making use of a general-purpose processor executing a program, the other is by using a dedicated unit that keeps track of all the processing units that are active at all times. and which ones are not.
Distributed Computing in Mesh or Grid Computing
One type of distributed computing is mesh computing, but the main difference is that in distributed computing an element is required to act as a conductor, which is in charge of managing resources and makes all the processing units act at the same time. unison in dividing a common problem that has been divided into several parts.
In the case of mesh computing, each of the processing units has its own resource manager and no centralized resource management system is used. It is widely used to solve problems that not only can be divided and solved independently, but that do not have a wide dependency and iteration between the different parts, so that each process unit can work completely independently.
At the moment they are the most widely used type of distributed computing, especially within the world of scientific computing since the problem of having a conductor in charge of managing all resources at the same time is avoided.
