Exam 16: Distributed Processing, Clientserver, and Clusters

The _________ enables many clients to share access to the same database and enables the use of a high-performance computer system to manage the database.

A _________ is a group of interconnected, whole computers working together as a unified computing resource that can create the illusion of being one machine.

The goal of __________ was to investigate the potential of clustered PCs for performing important computation tasks beyond the capabilities of contemporary workstations at minimum cost.

The Beowulf approach is widely implemented and is perhaps the most important cluster technology available.

A networked information requester, usually a PC or workstation, that can query database and/or other information from a server is a(n) _________

The common disks are partitioned into volumes, and each volume is owned by a single computer, is the _________ approach.

The most basic class of client/server configuration is __________ , in which the client is principally responsible for providing a graphical user interface, while virtually all of the processing is done on the server.

A set of function and call programs that allow clients and servers to intercommunicate is a(n) ________ interface.

In addition to clients and servers, the third essential ingredient of the client/server environment is the _________ .

The fat client approach mimics the traditional host-centered approach and is often the migration path for evolving corporate-wide application from the mainframe to a distributed environment.

Virtually all application processing may be done at the client, with the exception of data validation routines and other database logic functions that are best performed at the server.

In the _________ approach, the programmer writes the application from the outset to run on a cluster and uses message passing to move data, as required, between cluster nodes.

As a result of _________ , common functions can be used by different departments internally and by external business partners as well.

Pvmsync, EnFuzion, and BPRoc are examples of __________ system software.

The procedure call is used for access to remote services.

__________ is a set of drivers, APIs, or other software that improves connectivity between a client application and a server.

A __________ is a computer, usually a high-powered workstation, a minicomputer, or a mainframe, that houses information for manipulation by networked clients.

The essence of the _________ technique is to allow programs on different machines to interact using simple procedure call/return semantics, just as if the two programs were on the same machine.

The client-based station generally presents the type of graphical interface that is most comfortable to users, including the use of windows and a mouse.

The main benefit of the ________ model is that it takes advantage of desktop power, offloading application processing from servers and making them more efficient and less likely to be bottlenecks.