《分布式系统原理与范型》课后习题与答案(英文).pdfVIP

DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS PRINCIPLES AND PARADIGMS PROBLEM SOLUTIONS ANDREW S. TANENBAUM MAARTEN VAN STEEN Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands PRENTICE HALL UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ 07458 SOLUTIONS TO CHAPTER 1 PROBLEMS 1. Q: What is the role of middleware in a distributed system? A: To enhance the distribution transparency that is missing in network operat- ing systems. In other words, middleware aims at improving the single-system view that a distributed system should have. 2. Q: Explain what is meant by (distribution) transparency, and give examples of different types of transparency. A: Distribution transparency is the phenomenon by which distribution aspects in a system are hidden from users and applications. Examples include access transparency, location transparency, migration transparency, relocation tran- sparency, replication transparency, concurrency transparency, failure tran- sparency, and persistence transparency. 3. Q: Why is it sometimes so hard to hide the occurrence and recovery from failures in a distributed system? A: It is generally impossible to detect whether a server is actually down, or that it is simply slow in responding. Consequently, a system may have to report that a service is not available, although, in fact, the server is just slow. 4. Q: Why is it not always a good idea to aim at implementing the highest degree of transparency possible? A: Aiming at the highest degree of transparency may lead to a considerable loss of performance that users are not willing to accept. 5. Q: What is an open distributed system and what benefits does openness pro- vide? A: An open distributed system offers se