Distributed computing can be defined in various ways. In terms of web hosting, it is a type of web hosting server where an application or site is being hosted on distributed systems. Each part of the application or site has its own system, which communicates together to achieve a specific goal. There are two main conditions where the use of distributed computing is better than other hosting servers. On those conditions, there are many advantages this type of web hosting can give.

Pros and Cons

The first condition where distributed computing is used is when the site requires a communication network that separates its parts to several computers. This occurs only if some of the modules in the site perform a rigorous process that no single computer can possibly do. On this occasion, the data which is produced in one computer is constantly needed by another computer. A simple example of this condition is – when the site’s host is unable to accommodate the site monolithically and resorted to separating site’s database (SQL or MySQL) to its actual coded pages (consist of HTML, XHTML, CSS, or PHP) onto different servers.

The second condition where distributed computing is used is when a multiple systems server is more practical than a single system server. That is when the benefits of distributed web host outweigh the use of other web host. One of the common examples of this condition is when the use of cluster low-end server is more cost efficient compared to one high-end server. There are many sites today that are transferring or already using distributed server because of its lower maintainability cost.

There are many advantages that this type of web host has compared to others. One of this is that a multiple systems server is more reliable than a single system server. Because each process on a site is separated to different systems, most of distributed computing servers have low chance of downtime. Moreover, if there is a failure to one of the systems, the other parts of the site can still be used because they are on separate systems. Reliability of the site is very important for many businesses. The more downtimes their site suffers; the more money they lose. This is the reason why distributed servers are highly advisable for all businesses.

Another advantage of this type of web host is that it is easier to manage and expand than other hosts. Updating a single part on distributed server usually does not require an update to other parts. That is when site’s owners want to change something on the database, that person doesn’t need to change something on other parts of the application. This gives greater flexibility on the maintainability of the site, which is a great benefit for the company.

Conclusion

Distributed computing started as only a branch of computer science that deals with the study of different systems. Nowadays, the term is widely used on a lot of things, which already includes web hosting. On the web, it is one of the server types that can offer some of great and unique advantages to its users.