Distributed & MultiProcessor

Operating Systems in Distributed Processing

Distributed processing and parallel processing are two technologies used to harness the power of a multiprocessor
system which was not available earlier in centralized computing. Distributed processing and parallel processing
have a common goal which is higher utilization of CPU i.e. high throughput using more processors. Due to the cost
factors, we can’t achieve higher throughput.

So, the distributed processing or loosely coupled system has to be used but in parallel processing, all processors are
tightly coupled, use shared memory for communication, and are present in one case. In distributed processing,
computers have to be connected by links enabling electronic data transfer and data sharing among the various
connected computers. Mostly distributed processing is based on a client-server computing environment. There are
the following two approaches to manage the situation:
- Network operating system (NOS) - Global operating system (GOS)

Distribution of Data
In a distributed environment, data can also be distributed similarly to the distribution of programs. Data for
applications could be maintained as:
• Centralized data: data resides only at one central computer i.e. server that can be accessed or shared by all
other computers in the network.
• Replicated data: the specific database can be replicated or duplicated in the computer where it is needed often.
• Partitioned data: The entire database is sliced into many parts.
Network Operating System:

It is assumed that shared data resides on the server and clients are those computers in the network (other than
the server) that want to access the shared data. The communication management software on the client generates
an RPC and sends it across the network. The communication management software on the server receives the
request and in turn requests the network services software on the server itself for the clients’ request. This
software is responsible for sharable resources such as files, disks, databases, and printers. Thus NOS implements
some kind of multitasking to service multiple tasks. Since network services software accesses shared resources,
access control and protection are implemented.
Functions of NOS
Following are the summarized functions of NOS:
• Redirection: software normally resides on the client and also on the server if it is not dedicated, the server
machine may want access to other computers.
• Communication management: It is concerned with the error-free transmission of messages (requests and data)
to the destination which consists of many modules corresponding to the OSI layers.
• File/printer services: software runs only on the server which is used to schedule and then run as separate tasks.
• Network management: software is responsible for monitoring the network and its components such as
computers, modems, repeaters, lines, adapters, multiplexers, and many more. Also, it maintains a list of
hardware equipment along with its location and status.
Global Operating System (GOS)

It has a list of processes executing on different machines and the resources needed by each one of them. Relatively
free processors can be scheduled with tasks for execution. Memory is managed at a global level. The various
functions of the GOS are:
• User interface • Process/object management • Memory management
• Communication management • Information management • Network management
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

A distributed environment consists of servers and clients. When a client requests some data on the server this
procedure on the server operating system is called remotely from the client. Hence it is called a remote procedure
call (RPC).
Multiprocessor Systems
Multiprocessor systems provide an alternative for improving the performance of computer systems by coupling
many low-cost standard processors to increase throughput & application speedup. Inter-processor communication
and synchronization are overhead in multiprocessor systems.
Advantages of Multiprocessors
• Performance & Computing power • Flexibility • Functional specialization
• Fault tolerance • Modular growth • Cost / performance
Flynn classified computer systems as follows:

• SISD: Single Instruction Stream, Single Data Stream
• SIMD: Single Instruction Stream, Multiple Data Stream
• MISD: Multiple Instruction Streams, Single Data Stream
• MIMD: Multiple Instruction Streams, Multiple Data Stream
Based on memory and access delays, multiprocessor systems are classified as:
• Uniform memory access (UMA) • No remote memory access (NORMA)
• Non-uniform memory access (NUMA)
Three Types of Multiprocessor Operating Systems

• Separate supervisors: each node is a processor having a separate operating system with memory and I/O
resources.
• Master/slave: one processor – the master is dedicated to executing the operating system. The remaining
processors are slaves and form a pool of computational processors. The master schedules and controls the
slaves.
• Symmetric: all processors are functionally identical.

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Operating Systems in Distributed Processing

Network Operating System:

Global Operating System (GOS)

Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Flynn classified computer systems as follows:

Three Types of Multiprocessor Operating Systems

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