Distributed Systems, Networks, and Operating Systems

Distributed Systems involve the study and design of systems where multiple independent computers or nodes work together to achieve a common goal. These systems are characterized by their ability to share resources and data while appearing to the user as a single coherent system. Distributed systems are essential in large-scale computing environments, such as cloud computing, content delivery networks, and peer-to-peer systems. Research in this area focuses on issues like fault tolerance, scalability, data consistency, and communication between distributed components. Ensuring high performance, security, and reliability in systems spread across different locations and devices is one of the core challenges in this field.

Networks form the backbone of distributed systems, enabling communication and data exchange between machines. Networking research explores the protocols, algorithms, and architectures that support efficient and reliable data transfer. Key topics include the design of routing algorithms, congestion control, network security, and quality of service. As the internet, 5G, and emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) expand, networking research also explores how to optimize bandwidth, reduce latency, and ensure seamless connectivity. The integration of software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) also plays a significant role in creating more flexible and dynamic network environments.

Operating Systems (OS) are the software layers that manage hardware resources and provide services to applications in distributed and networked environments. In a distributed context, OS research addresses how to efficiently manage resources across multiple machines, ensuring smooth coordination, scheduling, memory management, and security. The operating system must handle parallelism, synchronization, and communication in a way that maximizes performance without compromising reliability. Research in this area also covers virtualization, containerization, and microkernel architectures, which are increasingly important in cloud computing and distributed computing frameworks, allowing multiple systems to share the same physical resources efficiently and securely.

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Faculty

Highlights

https://highlights.cis.upenn.edu/category/research/distributed-systems