Difference Between Network Operating System And Distributed Operating System
What is a Network Operating System?
Network operating systems are server-based versions of operating systems that offer networking features. In addition to managing users, groups, and data, it provides security. These operating systems enable users to move files and collaborate on hardware, such as printers, across multiple devices connected to a network, such as a private network, public network, or local area network (LAN). It is the most widely used operating system in distributed system architectures. A network operating system aims to enable resource sharing between two or more machines running different operating systems.
Server accessibility is another crucial component. In these systems, the centralized server is very dependable. This operating system can be easily updated and integrated with new hardware and technologies.
Both setting up and running the server are expensive. These systems also require routine upkeep and updates. Novel Netware, Microsoft Windows Server, and Linux are a few network operating systems.
What is a Distributed Operating System?
One fundamental kind of operating system is a distributed operating system (DOS). Distributed systems use multiple central processors to support numerous users and applications in real-time. As an outcome, the processors divide up the data processing tasks.
It uses a single communication channel to link several computers. Additionally, every one of these systems has a separate processor and memory. These CPUs can also talk to each other over phone lines or high-speed buses. Systems that communicate with one another through a single channel are one single entity. Another term for them is loosely coupled systems.
This operating system comprises multiple computers, nodes, and websites connected by LAN/WAN connections. It supports numerous real-time products and various users, allowing the distribution of entire systems on a few central processors. In addition to offering users virtual machine abstraction, distributed operating systems can share their I/O files and computational assets.
Difference Between Network Operating System and Distributed Operating System
In tabular form, the following highlights some of the main differences between a Distributed Operating System (DOS) and a Network Operating System (NOS):
| Network Operating System | Distributed Operating System |
| 1. Supervises the services and resources on a network. | 1. Synchronizes the resources of numerous machines. |
| 2. Controls resources and services available across the network. | 2. Supervises a group or network of connected computers. |
| 3. Encourage communication and resource sharing across the network. | 3. Facilitate the effective integration of multiple machines into a single system. |
| 4. Centralized management of network resources is the norm. | 4. Resource management and distributed control. |
| 5. Resources that belong to specific computers. | 5. Resources that are shared by computers that are connected. |
| 6. Resources accessed through a network. | 6. Both locally and nationally accessed resources. |
| 7. Centralized control might have an impact on scalability. | 7. Because of their distributed nature, they are generally more scalable. |
| 8. Generally speaking, there is restricted fault tolerance. | 8. Redundancy and replication lead to increased fault tolerance. |
| 9. Examples of network operating systems are Windows Server, Linux Server, and Novell NetWare. | 9. Examples of distributed operating systems are Amoeba, LOCUS, and, Mach. |
| 10. Mainly used for the sharing of data and communication. | 10. Significant coordination and communication between the nodes. |
| 11. Restricted or nonexistent internal load balancing. | 11. Load balancing is frequently used to optimize resource use. |
| 12. Networked devices may not all have the same level of data consistency. | 12. Strong emphasis on synchronization and consistency of data. |
| 13. Restricted techniques for fault isolation and recovery. | 13. Strong fault isolation and recovery systems. |
| 14. Less focus on data and service redundancy. | 14. Extensive use of redundancy to increase reliability. |
| 15. Susceptible to a single network point of failure. | 15. Intended to reduce the number of single points of failure. |
| 16. Potentially compatible with a variety of network devices. | 16. Usually necessitates uniform hardware and software. |
| 17. Places a focus on networked devices sharing resources. | 17. Broad collaboration and sharing of resources. |
| 18. Limited ability of networked devices to coordinate | 18. Thorough coordination in the context of distributed computing. |
| 19. Usually easier to set up and maintain. | 19. Because of the distributed coordination, it is more complex. |
| 20. Use cases include things like networks for small and medium-sized businesses. | 20. Large-scale data processing, cloud computing, and clusters are a few instances of distributed OS use cases. |
Conclusion
These variations draw attention to how network and distributed operating systems differ in features and applications. Whereas DOS is intended to combine several linked machines into a single, cohesive system, NOS is concentrated on managing network resources.