Distributed Vs Cloud Computing

Distributed computing is when multiple computers communicating through a network are set up to do one job, this is done without anyone operating the computers. Their resources are pooled and completely focused on completing one task as fast and efficiently as possible. Cloud computing is when a computer, or computers are being offered as a service to do a certain task over a network for the person(s) purchasing the service. (The people receiving the service have no physical access to the computers and access the services over the internet)

Distributed computing has the advantage of being very reliable and fault tolerant, if one computer fails, the rest of the network's computers will still be functional since they are technically independent systems. There is also good scalability because systems can be added individually as needed instead of having to overcommit initially, and adding new systems is easy. The some of the disadvantages of cloud computing are: troubleshooting these systems is difficult, because one computer could be the problem and it may not always be easy to see that without individually checking computers. Distributed systems are very software dependent to control how the systems work and solve problems, this software is expensive and has a learning curve.

Cloud computing has the advantage of making projects easier for businesses to undertake in because they can develop a project without the physical constraint of having to get the hardware needed themselves, so they can focus on the actual development of the project. This outsourcing of responsibility gives the businesses involved unlimited scalability and reliability. The disadvantage of cloud computing is a loss of control to a degree, the company must be able to trust the cloud provider and the software cannot require physical interaction with the hardware.