Assignment

Question 1: A) Identify various types of resources that can usefully be shared in computer networks. Give examples of their sharing as it occurs in distributed systems. B) Discuss briefly key challenges that one needs to address in the design and development of distributed applications.

Question 2: A) Discuss peer-to-peer architectural model for construction of distributed systems. B) Identify main types of security threats that might occur in the Internet with an example.

Question 3: A) Discuss difference between TCP/IP and UDP protocols for Socket-based communication. B) Write a multithreaded Java program that responds to remote clients' requests for meaning of words stored in a Dictionary. If a client program sends a message "King" to the server, the server program responds back with the meaning of word "King" by retrieving it from the dictionary (as a string). Use Java Sockets for communication between clients and the server.

Question 4: A) Write a simple CORBA program that demonstrates the invocation of remote object services. For example, when a client sends a message "Hello", the server responds with "Hi There!". B) Write a simple RMI program that demonstrates the invocation of remote object services. For example, when a client sends a message "Ping", the server responds with "Pong".

Question 5: A) Discuss important operating systems services that are essential for supporting the development of concurrent and scalable distributed systems. B) Discuss architecture of Layered operating system. Comment on how well it supports the development of extensible operating systems.

Question 6: A) Discuss techniques for achieving high-performance in distributed file systems. B) Discuss model architecture of distributed file system and its components.

Question 7: A) Discuss asymmetric (public/private key pair-based) cryptography technique and how it can be used in supporting security in distributed systems. B) Discuss secure socket layer (SSL) architecture and its components.

Question 8: A) Discuss the role of naming services in distributed systems. List two navigation schemes that can be used for name resolution in domain name systems. B) Discuss operation of a typical domain name server (DNS) with suitable example.