COSC 5333 Class Notes Characteristics of a Distributed System . A collection of autonomous computers are interconnected by a communications network. .
Sites communicate exclusively by exchanging messages.
Communication delays are substantial compared to local memory reference times. . Sharing of resources is supported by the system software. Advantages of Distributed Systems Resource Sharing Information and resources that are physically distributed can be easily shared. Performance Dedicated processors give predictable response and instant feedback needed for interactive graphical interfaces. Extensibility Incremental growth in system capacity without disrupting operation of the system.