Centralized System


In Centralized system, the network resources are placed and managed from a main location. Centralized network model allows administrators to manage the resources centrally, which other users can access. The network servers and other critical network resources are located in a central location in a secure and dedicated server room.

Peer-to-peer - Wikipedia

Fig: Centralized System

Centralized System Characteristics:

  • One component with non-autonomous parts
  • Components shared by users all the time
  • All resources accessible
  • Software runs in a single process
  • Single point of control
  • Single point of failure

Distributed System


A distributed system is a collection of independent computers, interconnected via a network, capable of collaborating on a task. 

A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal. A computer program that runs in a distributed system is called a distributed program, and distributed programming is the process of writing such programs. 

Fig: Distributed System

Distributed System Characteristics:

  • Multiple autonomous components
  • Components are not shared by all users
  • Resources may not be accessible
  • Software runs in concurrent processes on
  • Different processors
  • Multiple points of control
  • Multiple points of failure